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A  WOMAN   RICE   PLANTER 


•T 


*&&& 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 

ATLANTA    •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN   &   CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


A  WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

F 

I 


PATIENCE    PENNINGTON 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

OWEN   WISTEE 


ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 

ALICE   E.    H.    SMITH 


. 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 
1914 

All  rights  reserved 


^-agS^      ^ 


Copyrighted  1904,  1905,  1906,  190T, 
By   THE   SUN   PRINTING   AND    PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION. 


Copyright,  1913, 
By  THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped      Published  September,  1913.     Reprinted 
September,  1914. 


NortoooH  }fres8 

J.  S.  Cushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


THE 
LIBRARY 

NO  UO 


MY   FATHER 

TO   WHOSE    EXAMPLE    OF    SELF-CONTROL   AND    CHRISTIAN 

FORTITUDE,     I      OWE      THE      POWER      TO      LIVE      MY 

LIFE      INDEPENDENT      OF      EXTERNALS,     I 

DEDICATE     THESE     FRAGMENTARY 

RECORDS,    ON    THIS    THE    ONE 

HUNDRED  AND  TWELFTH 

ANNIVERSARY  OF 

HIS   BIRTH 


Chicoea  Wood, 
April  21st,  1913. 

63240 


'  < 


INTRODUCTION 

While  the  influences  and  mechanisms  of  the  present  world 
tend  to  make  all  parts  of  it  alike  in  thought  and  in  costume, 
the  various  nooks  and  corners  of  our  own  country  are  gradually 
losing  their  original  highly  accentuated  characteristics,  and  are 
merging  into  a  general  similarity.  Most  of  what  you  hear  and 
see  any  morning  in  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  you  will  hear  r_ 
and  see  in  Omaha,  Denver,  Seattle,  or  anywhere  else,  because 
the  department  stores  advertise  and  sell  the  same  kind  of 
clothes  everywhere  at  the  same  time,  and  the  same  news  is 
everywhere  published  in  the  daily  papers. 

Our  American  literature  is  therefore  very  lucky  to  have  pro- 
duced its  Jewetts,  Wilkinses,  Cables,  Craddocks,  Pages,  and 
Harrises,  who  have  well  set  down  for  our  perpetual  interest 
and  instruction  the  evaporating  charm  of  their  chosen  fields. 

Here  is  another  book  belonging  to  this  valuable  indigenous 
shelf  of  ours,  a  shelf  where  stand  the  volumes  that  tell  of 
people  and  events  that  could  have  been  met  with  nowhere  in 
the  world  save  upon  our  own  native  soil.  Although  it  is  not 
fiction,  but  a  record  of  personal  experience,  it  should  prove 
to  many  readers  as  entertaining  as  our  best  fiction. 

It  is  about  the  South,  a  particular  part  of  the  South,  the 
rice-plantation  coast  of  South  Carolina.  In  this  region,  field 
and  water  and  forest  intermingle  to  form  a  strange,  haunting 
scene,  full  of  character  and  mystery.  To  dine  with  a  neighbor 
here,  one  needs  both  the  horse  and  the  boat ;  travel  has  to  be 
amphibious.  And  in  this  region,  too,  the  marks  that  were 
made  by  the  old  days  have  been  by  the  new  days  obliterated  less 
than  in  most  parts  of  our  country.  The  Massachusetts,  the 
New  York,  the  Pennsylvania  of  fifty  years  ago,  have  been  swept 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

into  albums  and  libraries ;  shelves  and  cabinets  are  their  resting- 
place.  Would  you  know  how  yonder  large  mills  looked  in  1860  ? 
No  mills  were  there  then,  the  spot  was  a  pond,  with  a  country 
road  and  a  farm-house  about  half  a  mile  down  the  road ;  per- 
haps somebody  has  a  photograph  or  a  wood-cut  showing  it 
as  it  used  to  be.  That  is  what  most  of  us  in  the  North  and 
East  have  to  do  —  pull  down  old  books,  pull  open  old  drawers 
—  if  we  would  see  the  former  aspect  of  our  neighborhood. 

Not  so  is  it  in  the  country  of  the  rice.  The  Southerner  of 
to-day  can  still  trace  the  fields  and  woods  of  old.  His  house 
may  be  roofless,  his  garden  walks  a  tangle,  but  the  avenue  of 
live  oaks  still  stands,  the  chimney  of  his  mill  still  rises  above 
a  pile  of  crumbled  bricks,  at  the  doors  of  the  cabins  the  negroes 
still  sit,  clad  in  a  fashion  not  yet  changed  beyond  recognition. 
The  fields  themselves  may  have  had  their  banks  cut  and  dis- 
solved away  by  unresisted  freshets,  but  still  they  are  visible, 
still  the  unchanged  river  pours  between  and  around  them,  and 
still  the  boat  loads  of  people  creep  and  prowl  through  the  cuts. 

True  it  is  that  no  longer  are  these  people  well-to-do  neighbors 
going  to  visit  each  other,  rowed  by  an  ebony  crew  in  uniform 
that  chants  plantation  songs  in  rhythm  to  the  strokes  of  its 
oars — those  neighbors  are  most  of  them  lying  in  the  grave- 
yard of  St.  Michael's,  Charleston,  or  in  the  lovely  enclosures 
surrounding  the  little  silent  country  churches  upon  which  one 
sometimes  emerges  during  a  long  ride  through  the  woods. 
They  who  go  in  the  boats  to-day  are  apt  to  be  less  prosperous, 
whatever  their  color,  and  when  they  are  black  they  may  very 
likely  be  poachers  who  do  not  sing.  But  in  spite  of  these 
differences,  the  general  scene  is  the  same. 

Thus  the  mark  of  the  old  days  remains  visible;  emancipa- 
tion has  by  no  means  obliterated  it ;  emancipation  has  merely 
brought  to  a  close  the  old  days  themselves,  without  building  on 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

top  of  them  anything  new ;  it  is  Time  that  gently  and  silently 
and  slowly  is  strewing  its  leaves  upon  that  ended  era.. 

But  certain  Southerners,  loving  their  old  land  and  custom, 
have  struggled  to  keep  alive  the  rice-planting,  to  mend  their 
roofs  and  doors,  to  guard  the  flame  upon  their  old  hearths,  and 
to  teach  good  conduct  and  Christian  faith  to  the  young  negroes 
unshackled  from  slavery  indeed,  but  flung  into  space  without 
master,  or  law,  or  guide.  Once  engulfed  by  the  towns,  these 
hapless  blacks  become  a  prey  to  every  primitive  and  every 
sophisticated  vice. 

Struggle  is  too  pale  a  word  for  the  decades  of  efforts  and 
obstacles  that  these  courageous  Southerners  have  known,  par- 
ticularly since  rice  has  come  to  be  grown  so  successfully  else- 
where;  and  when  the  devoted  planter  happens  to  be  a  woman, 
the  measure  of  daily  indomitableness  is  full  and  runs  over. 

Such  a  life  of  such  a  woman  is  described  in  these  pages ; 
with  its  humor  and  its  poignancy  mingling  at  every  turn,  with 
the  performances  of  the  negroes,  the  performances  of  the  ani- 
mals, and  the  ceaseless  and  miscellaneous  distractions  and 
dangers  of  the  mistress,  all  told  with  perfect  vividness  and 
simplicity.  As  the  narrative  proceeds,  the  reader  gradually 
perceives  that  he  has  met  with  a  Southern  picture  unsurpassed, 
and  that  it  makes  a  native  document  of  permanent  historic 
value.  It  should  be  the  companion  volume  to  that  admirable 
account  of  Eliza  Pinckney  written  by  Mrs.  St.  Julien  Ravenel ; 
together,  these  two  books  record  the  South  Carolina  lady  and 
her  plantation,  first  in  the  days  of  her  prosperity  and  then  in 
the  later  days.  Now  and  then  one  meets  some  one  with  a 
natural  gift  of  style  so  complete  that  it  flows  from  the  pen  as 
song  from  a  wild  bird ;  but  most  rare  is  it  to  find  this  gift  and 
the  experiences  it  portrays  united  in  the  same  person. 

OWEN   WISTER. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  sheaves  are  beaten  with  flails Frontispiece 

PAGE 

"Cherokee" — my  father's  place 4 

Bonaparte  ............  7 

Each  field  has  a  small  flood-gate,  called  a  "  trunk"           ...  9 

Marcus  began  work  on  the  breaks      .......  10 

"  The  girls  shuffled  the  rice  about  with  their  feet  until  it  was  clayed  "  11 

Near  the  bridge  two  negro  women  are  fishing    .....  14 

A  request  from  Wishy's  mother,  Annette,  for  something  to  stop 

bleeding 17 

Green  thought  it  was  folly  and  fussiness   .         .         .         .  27 

She  picked  her  usual  thirty-five  pounds  alone    .....  31 

To-day  the  hands  are  ' '  toting  ' '  the  rice  into  the  flats      ...  34 
"  You  see  a  stack  of  rice  approaching,  and  you  perceive  a  pair  of 

legs,  or  a  skirt,  as  the  case  may  be,  peeping  from  beneath  "       .  35 

Chloe 40 

Front  porch — Casa  Bianca        ........  42 

Elihu  was  a  splendid  boatman   .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .51 

My  little  brown  maid  Patty  is  a  new  acquisition  and  a  great  com- 
fort, for  she  is  very  bright  ........  53 

The  roughness  and  plainness  of  the  pineland  house  .         .         .         .54 

The  yearly  pow-wow  at  Casa  Bianca          ......  60 

"  Four  young  girls  who  are  splendid  workers  "          ....  62 

She  promised  not  to  war  any  more    .......  65 

"Myself,  ma'am,  bin  most  stupid  "  .......  66 

A  rice  field  "  flowed " 72 

The  hoe  they  consider  purely  a  feminine  implement          ...  79 

The  back  steps  to  the  pineland  house         ......  84 

"  A  very  large  black  hat' ' 87 

Her  husband  brought  her  in  an  ox  cart     ......  93 

"  Old  Maum  Mary  came  to  bring  me  a  pi-esent  of  sweet  potatoes  "  .  98 

"  Pa  dey  een  'ebaid" 102 

One  or  two  hands  in  the  barn-yard    .......  107 

A  corner  of  Casa  Bianca 109 


Xll 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"Chaney" 

Five  children  asked  me  to  let  them  "  hunt  tetta" 

"It  is  tied  into  sheaves,  which  the  negroes  do  very  skilfully, 

wisp  of  the  rice  itself  " 

"The  field 'with  its  picturesque  workers" 

"The  Ferry  " 

His  wife  was  very  stirring 

Day  after  day  I  met  Judy  coming  out  of  her  patch    . 

"  Old  Florinda,  the  plantation  nurse  "       .... 

"  Miss  Patience,  le'  me  len'  yer  de  money  " 

"  Jus' shinin' um  up  wid  de  knife-brick  " 

Aphrodite  spread  a  quilt  and  deposited  the  party  upon  it 

"  Then  he  could  talk  a-plenty  "  ..... 

Chloe  is  devoted  to  the  chicks  —  feeds  them  every  two  hours 

Prince  Frederick's  Pee  Dee        ...... 

Prince  George  Winyah 

"  Eh,  eh,  I  yere  say  yu  cry  'bout  chicken  "       . 

The  summer  kitchen  at  Cherokee       ..... 

The  winter  kitchen  at  Cherokee 

The  string  of  excited  children 

I  got  Chloe  off  to  make  a  visit  to  her  daughter  . 

I  really  do  not  miss  ice,  now  that  my  little  brown  jug  is  swu 

the  well 

Patty  came  in     ........         . 

"Plat  eye!" 

Goliah  cried  and  sobbed 

Had  Eva  to  sow  by  hand  a  little  of  the  inoculated  seed 

Her  little  log  cottage  was  as  clean  as  possible    . 

The  sacred  spot  with  its  heavy  live  oak  shadows 

"  I  met  Dab  on  the  road  "  ...... 

Cherokee  steps 

The  smoke-house  at  Cherokee  for  meat  curing 

Sol's  wife,  Aphrodite,  is  a  specimen  of  maternal  health  and  vigor 

I  saw  a  raft  of  very  fine  poplar  logs  being  made 

Cypress  ti-ees       ......... 

She  was  a  simple,  faithful  soul  —  always  diligent 

Winnowing  house  for  preparation  of  seed  rice  . 

"  Patty  en  Dab  en  me  all  bin  a  eat  " 

Chloe  began  :  "  W 'en  I  bin  a  small  gal  " 

I  took  Chloe  to  Casa  Bianca  to  serve  luncheon 


ith  a 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"  I  read  tell  de  kumfut  kum  to  me  "  .         .... 

"  Up  kuru  Maum  Mary  wid  de  big  cake  een  de  wheelbarrer  "' 

Gibbie  and  the  oxen  . 

In  the  field  —  sowing  . 

How  to  lay  the  breakfast  table 

Joy  unspeakable 

The  church  in  Peaceville    . 

Chloe  was  a  great  success  at  the  North 

My  old  summer  home  at  Pawleys  Island 

The  roof  of  the  house  on  Pawleys  Island  —  from  the  sand-hills 

"En  de  'omans  mek  answer  en  say  :  'No,  ma'am  ;  we  nebei 

none  " ' 
"  Dem  all  stan'  outside  de  fence  " 
Fanning  and  pounding  rice  for  household  use 

Pounding  rice 

The  rice-fields  looked  like  a  great  lake 
Casa  Bianca        ...... 

Rice-fields  from  the  highlands    . 
"  You  see  I  didn't  tell  no  lie  "   . 


.steal 


PAGE 

309 
311 
313 
317 
321 
326 
331 
338 
349 


350 
367 
375 
376 
399 
422 
439 
442 


A  WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


CHAPTER   I 

Cherokee,  March  30,  1903. 

YOU  have  asked  me  to  tell  of  my  rice-planting  experience, 
and  I  will  do  my  best,  though  I  hardly  know  where  to 
begin. 
Some  years  ago  the  plantation  where  I  had  spent  my  very 
short  married  life,  Casa  Bianca,  was  for  sale,  and  against  the 
judgment  of  the  men  of  my  family  I  decided  to  put  $10,000, 
every  cent  I  had,  in  the  purchase  of  it,  to  grow  old  in,  I  said, 
feeling  it  a  refuge  from  the  loneliness  which  crushed  me. 
Though  opposed  to  the  step,  one  of  my  brothers  undertook 
very  kindly  to  manage  it  until  paid  for,  then  to  turn  it  over 
to  me.  I  had  paid  $5000  cash  and  spent  $5000  in  buying 
mules,  supplies,  ploughs,  harrows,  seed  rice,  etc.,  necessary 
to  start  and  run  the  place.  This  left  me  with  a  debt  of  $5000, 
for  which  I  gave  a  mortgage.  After  some  years  the  debt 
was  reduced  to  $3000,  when  I  awoke  to  the  fact  that  I  had 
no  right  to  burden  and  worry  my  brother  any  longer  with 
this  troublesome  addition  to  his  own  large  planting,1  and 
I  told  him  the  first  of  January  of  18 —  that  I  had  determined 
to  relieve  him  and  try  it  myself.  He  seemed  much  shocked 
and  surprised  and  said  it  was  impossible ;  how  was  it  possible 
for  me,  with  absolutely  no  knowledge  of  planting  or  expe- 
rience, to  do  anything?  It  would  be  much  wiser  to  rent. 
I  said  I  would  gladly  do  so,  but  who  would  rent  it  ?  He 
said  he  would  give  me  $300  a  year  for  it,  just  to  assist  me  in 
this  trouble,  and  I  answered  that  that  would  just  pay  the 

1  He  planted  at  this  time  one  thousand  acres  of  rice  successfully. 

B  1 


2  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

taxes  and  the  interest  on  the  debt,  and  I  would  never  have 
any  prospect  of  paying  off  the  mortgage,  and,  when  I  died, 
instead  of  leaving  something  to  my  nieces  and  nephews,  I 
would  leave  only  a  debt.  No ;  I  had  thought  of  it  well ; 
I  would  sell  the  five  mules  and  put  that  money  in  bank,  and 
as  far  as  that  went  I  would  plant  on  wages,  and  the  rest  of 
the  land  I  would  rent  to  the  negroes  at  ten  bushels  to  the 
acre.  He  was  perfectly  dismayed ;  said  I  would  have  to  ad- 
vance heavily  to  them,  and  nothing  but  ruin  awaited  me  in 
such  an  undertaking. 
J  However,  I  assembled  the  hands  and  told  them  that  all 
/  who  could  not  support  themselves  for  a  year  would  have  to 
leave  the  place.  With  one  accord  they  declared  they  could 
do  it ;  but  I  explained  to  them  that  I  was  going  to  take 
charge  myself,  that  I  was  a  woman,  with  no  resources  of 
money  behind  me,  and,  having  only  the  land,  I  intended  to 
rent  to  them  for  ten  bushels  of  rice  to  the  acre.  I  could  ad- 
vance nothing  but  the  seed.  I  could  give  them  a  chance 
to  work  for  themselves  and  prove  themselves  worthy  to  be 
free  men.  I  intended  to  have  no  overseer ;  each  man  would 
be  entirely  responsible  for  the  land  he  rented.  "You  know 
very  well,"  I  said,  "that  this  land  will  bring  my  ten  bushels  rent 
if  you  just  throw  the  seed  in  and  leave  it,  so  that  every  stroke 
of  work  that  you  do  will  go  into  your  own  pockets,  and  I 
hope  you  will  prove  men  enough  to  work  for  that  purpose." 

Then  I  picked  out  the  lazy,  shiftless  hands  and  told  them 
they  must  leave,  as  I  knew  they  would  not  work  for  them- 
selves. All  the  planters  around  were  eager  for  hands  and 
worked  entirely  on  wages,  and  I  would  only  plant  fifty  acres 
on  wages,  which  would  not  be  enough  to  supply  all  with  work. 
My  old  foreman,  Washington,  was  most  uneasy  and  miser- 
able, and  questioned  me  constantly  as  to  the  wisdom  of  what 
I  was  doing.  At  last  I  said  to  him:  "Washington,  you  do 
not  know  whether  I  have  the  sense  to  succeed  in  this  thing, 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  3 

Mass'  Tom  does  not  know,  I  don't  know ;  but  we  shall 
know  by  this  time  next  year,  and  in  the  meantime  you  must 
just  trust  me  and  do  the  best  you  can  for  me." 

It  proved  a  great  success!  I  went  through  the  burning 
suns  all  that  summer,  twice  a  week,  five  miles  in  a  buggy 
and  six  in  a  boat !  I,  who  had  always  been  timorous,  drove 
myself  the  five  miles  entirely  alone,  hired  a  strange  negro 
and  his  boat  and  was  rowed  by  him  to  Casa  Bianca  planta- 
tion. Then,  with  dear  old  Washington  behind  me,  telling 
of  all  the  trials  and  tribulations  he  had  had  in  getting  the 
work  done,  I  walked  around  the  200  acres  of  rice  in  all  stages 
of  beauty  and  awfulness  of  smell. 

But  I  was  more  than  repaid.  I  paid  off  the  debt  on  the 
place  and  lifted  the  mortgage.  I  had  never  hoped  for  that 
in  one  year.  My  renters  also  were  jubilant ;  they  made 
handsomely  and  bought  horses  and  buggies  and  oxen  for  the 
coming  year's  work.  When  I  had  paid  off  everything,  I 
had  not  a  cent  left  in  the  bank  to  run  on,  however.  Wash- 
ington was  amazed  and  very  happy  at  the  results,  but  when 
I  said  something  to  him  about  preparing  the  wages  field  for 
the  coming  crop,  he  said  very  solemnly  :  "Miss,  ef  yo'  weak, 
en  you  wrastle  wid  a  strong  man,  en  de  Lo'd  gie  you  strenf 
fo'  trow  um  down  once,  don't  you  try  um  'gain."  I  laughed, 
but,  remembering  that  I  would  have  to  borrow  money  to 
plant  the  field  this  year,  I  determined  to  take  the  old  man's 
advice  and  not  attempt  it.  This  was  most  fortunate,  for 
there  was  a  terrible  storm  that  autumn  and  I  would  have 
been  ruined.  My  renters  were  most  fortunate  in  getting 
their  rice  in  before  the  storm,  so  that  they  did  well  again. 

From  that  time  I  have  continued  to  plant  from  20  to  30 
acres  on  wages  and  to  rent  from  100  to  150  acres.  Of  course 
I  have  had  my  ups  and  downs  and  many  anxious  moments. 
Sometimes  I  have  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  take  as  renters 
those  who  were  unfit  to  stand  alone,  and  then  I  have  suffered 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


III 

mmii 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  5 

serious  loss ;  but,  on  the  whole,  I  have  been  able  to  keep 
my  head  above  water,  and  now  and  then  have  a  little  money 
to  invest.  In  short,  I  have  done  better  than  most  of  my 
neighbors. 

Five  years  ago  the  head  of  our  family  passed  away,  and  the 
Cherokee  plantation,  which  my  father  had  inherited  from 
his  grandfather,  had  to  be  sold  for  a  division  of  the  estate. 
None  of  my  family  was  able  to  buy  it,  and  a  syndicate 
seemed  the  only  likely  purchaser,  and  they  wanted  to  get 
it  for  very  little.  So  I  determined  the  best  thing  I  could 
do  was  to  buy  it  in  myself  and  devote  the  rest  of  my  life  to 
keeping  it  in  the  family,  and  perhaps  at  my  death  some  of 
the  younger  generation  would  be  able  to  take  it.  This  would 
condemn  me  to  a  very  isolated  existence,  with  much  hard 
work  and  anxiety ;  but,  after  all,  work  is  the  greatest  blessing, 
as  I  have  found.  I  have  lived  at  Cherokee  alone  ever  since, 
two  miles  from  any  white  person  !  With  my  horses,  my 
dogs,  my  books,  and  piano,  my  life  has  been  a  very  full  one. 
There  are  always  sick  people  to  be  tended  and  old  people  to 
be  helped,  and  I  have  excellent  servants. 

My  renters  here,  nearly  all  own  their  farms  and  live  on 
them,  coming  to  their  work  every  day  in  their  ox-wagons 
or  their  buggies ;  for  the  first  thing  a  negro  does  when  he 
makes  a  good  crop  is  to  buy  a  pair  of  oxen,  which  he  can  do 
for  $30,  and  the  next  good  crop  he  buys  a  horse  and  buggy. 

The  purchase  of  Cherokee  does  more  credit  to  my  heart 
than  head,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  if  I  shall  ever  pay  off  the 
mortgage.  I  have  lost  two  entire  crops  by  freshet,  and  the 
land  is  now  under  water  for  the  third  time  this  winter,  and, 
though  I  have  rented  125  acres,  it  is  very  uncertain  if  I  can 
get  the  half  of  that  in.  March  is  the  month  when  all  the 
rice-field  ploughing  should  be  done.  The  earliest  rice  is 
planted  generally  at  the  end  of  March,  then  through  April, 
and  one  week  in  May.      Last  season  I  only  got  in  fifty  acres 


6  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

of  rent  rice  and  ten  of  wages ;  for  in  the  same  way  the  freshet 
was  over  the  rice  land  all  winter,  and  when  it  went  off,  there 
was  only  time  to  prepare  that  much.  The  renters  made 
very  fine  crops  —  30,  40,  and  45  bushels  to  the  acre,  while 
the  wages  fields  only  made  17  !  This  is  a  complete  reversal 
of  the  ordinary  results,  for  I  have  very  rarely,  in  all  these 
years,  made  less  than  30  bushels  to  the  acre  on  my  fields, 
and  I  was  greatly  discouraged  and  anxious  to  understand 
the  reason  of  this  sudden  failure  in  the  wages  rice  at  both 
plantations. 

By  the  merest  chance  I  found  out  the  cause.  Early  in 
December  I  was  planting  oats  in  a  six-acre  field.  We  broad- 
cast winter  oats  in  this  section  and  then  plough  it  in  on  fields 
which  have  been  planted  in  peas  before.  I  was  anxious  to 
get  the  field  finished  before  a  freeze,  and  had  six  of  the 
best  ploughmen  in  it.  Grip  had  prevented  my  going  out 
until  they  had  nearly  finished,  but  Bonaparte  had  assured 
me  it  was  being  well  done.  When  I  went  into  the  field,  it 
looked  strange  to  me  — ■  the  rich  brown  earth  did  not  lie  in 
billowy  ridges  as  a  ploughed  field  generally  does.  Here  and 
there  a  weed  skeleton  stood  erect.  I  tried  to  pull  up  one 
or  two  of  these  and  found  they  were  firmly  rooted  in  the  soil 
and  had  never  been  turned.  I  walked  over  that  field  with 
my  alpenstock  for  hours,  and  found  that  systematically 
the  ploughmen  had  left  from  eight  to  ten  inches  of  hard 
land  between  each  furrow,  covering  it  skilfully  with  fresh 
earth,  so  that  each  hand  who  had  been  paid  for  an  acre's 
ploughing  had  in  reality  ploughed  only  one-third  of  an  acre. 
And  then  I  understood  the  failure  of  all  the  wage  rice  ! 

I  called  Bonaparte,  my  head  man,  whom  I  trust  fully. 
His  grandfather  belonged  to  my  grandfather,  and  his  family 
hold  themselves  as  the  colored  aristocracy  of  this  country. 
He  has  been  a  first-class  carpenter,  but  he  is  rheumatic  and 
does  not  work  with  ease  at  his  trade  now,  and  prefers  taking 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


3harge  of  my  planting  as  head  man,  or  agent,  as  they  now 
prefer  to  call  it.  He  is  trustworthy  and  has  charge  of  the 
keys  to  my  barns  where  rice,  corn,  oats,  and  potatoes  are  kept. 
I  have  trusted  him  entirely,  and  it  would  be  a  dreadful  blow 
to  think  that  he  was  losing  his  integrity.  Though  the  pres- 
sure from  the  idle,  shambling,  trifling  ele- 
ment of  his  race  is  very  great,  he  has 
been  able  to   resist  it  in  the  past. 

I  showed  Bonaparte  what  I  had 
discovered,  and  he  seemed  terri- 
bly shocked.  Whether  this  was 
real  or  not  I  cannot  say,  but  it 
seemed  very  real,  and  as  he  has 
never  ploughed,  perhaps  he  really 
did  not  understand.  When  I  said : 
"And  this  is  why  the  wage  rice 
turned  out  so  badly  !  You  re- 
ceived ploughing  like  this  and  I 
paid  for  it,"  he  seemed  convicted 
and  humbled.  He  had  told  me 
how  beautifully  the  rice  got  up,  but  as 
soon  as  the  hot  suns  of  July  struck  it,  the 
leaves  just  wilted.  Of  course,  the  roots  could 
not  penetrate  the  packed,  unbroken  clay  soil.  The  best  rice- 
field  soil  is  a  blue  clay  which  the  sun  bakes  like  a  brick.  For 
a  while  the  roots  lived  in  the  fresh  earth  on  top. 

The  seed  rice  I  had  paid  $1.35  a  bushel  for  and  planted 
two  and  one-half  bushels  to  each  acre ;  the  cost  of  cultivat- 
ing and  harvesting  it  is  $15  the  acre,  so  that  makes  $18.37 
which  it  cost  to  produce  seventeen  bushels  of  rice,  which  sold 
at  80  cents  a  bushel,  $13.60. 

What  is  to  be  the  result  of  this  new  departure  in  the  way 
of  dishonesty  I  do  not  know.  It  has  taken  me  a  long  time 
to  lose  patience.  I  A  few  years  ago  one  could  get  the  value 


Aliu 
Bonaparte. 


8  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

of  the  money  paid  for  work.  Just  after  the  war  there  was 
a  splendid  body  of  workers  on  this  plantation,  and  every 
one  in  the  neighborhood  was  eager  to  get  some  of  the  hands 
from  here.  My  father  gave  prizes  for  the  best  workers  in 
the  different  processes,  and  they  felt  a  great  pride  in  being 
the  prize  ploughman  or  ditcher  or  hoe  hand  of  the  year ;  but 
now,  alas,  poor  things,  they  have  been  so  confused  and 
muddled  by  the  mistaken  ideas  and  standards  held  out  to 
them  that  they  have  no  pride  in  honest  work,  no  pride  in 
anything  but  to  wear  fine  clothes  and  get  ahead  of  the  man 
who  employs  them  to  do  a  job. 

It  is  very  hard  for  me  to  say  this ;  I  have  labored  so  among 
them  to  try  to  elevate  their  ideals,  to  make  them  bring  up 
their  children  to  be  honest  and  diligent,  to  make  them  still  feel 
that  honest,  good  work  is  something  to  be  proud  of.  Even  last 
year  I  would  not  have  said  this,  but,  alas,  I  have  to  say  it  now. 

I  have  just  come  in  from  the  corn-field,  where  two  women 
have  been  paid  for  cutting  down  the  corn-stalks,  so  that  there 
will  be  nothing  to  interfere  with  the  plough.  They  have 
onty  broken  off  the  tops  of  the  stalks,  leaving  about  eighteen 
inches  of  stout  corn-stalks  all  through  the  field.  I  shall  have 
to  send  some  one  else  to  do  the  work  and  pay  once  more/ 

Yesterday  I  drove  eight  miles  to  my  lower  place,"  Casa 
Bianca,  where  the  foreman  asked  me  to  go  round  the  banks 
with  him  and  see  the  inroads  of  the  last  full-moon  tides,  and 
it  was  appalling,  the  forces  of  nature  are  so  immense.  It 
makes  me  quail  to  think  of  the  necessity  of  setting  my  small 
human  powers  in  opposition.  The  rice-field  banks  are  about 
three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river  at  high  water,  and  each 
field  has  a  very  small  flood-gate  (called  a  trunk),  which  opens 
and  closes  to  let  the  water  in  and  out ;  but  when  a  gale 
or  freshet  comes,  all  the  trunk  doors  have  to  be  raised  so  as 
not  to  strain  the  banks,  and  the  water  in  the  fields  rises  to 
the  level  of  the  river  outside. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


9 


> 


I  must  stop  writing  now  or  I  will  get  too  blue.  I  must  go 
out  and  bathe  in  the  generous  sunshine  and  feast  my  eyes 
on  the  glory  of  yellow  jessamine  that  crowns  every  bush  and 
tree  and  revel  in  the  delicious  perfume  as  my  bicycle  glides  over 
the  soft,  brown  pine-needles  along  the  level  paths  where  the 
great  dark  blue  eyes  of  the  wild  violets  look  lovingly  up  at  me. 

Yes,  yes,  God  is  very  good  and  His  world  is  very  beautiful, 
and  we  must  trust  Him.  When  these  brown  children  of  His 
were  wild,  they  were,  no 
doubt,  in  a  physical  way 
perfect,  but  when  they  were 
brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil  and  brought 
under  the  law,  like  our 
first  parents,  the  Prince  of 
Darkness  stepped  in  and 
the  struggle  within  them  of  / 
the  forces  of  heaven  and  hell 
has  been  going  on  there  ever 
since. 

Can  we  doubt  which  will  con- 
quer in  the  end  ?  No !  Evil  /£, 
can  never  have  the  final  vie-  ~" 
tory,  but  the  struggle  will  be  long,  for 
the  Prince  of  Darkness  uses  such  subtle 
emissaries.  They  come  in  the  guise 
of  angels,  as  elevators  and  instruc- 
tors, taking  from  them  the  simple  first  principles  of  right 
and  wrong  which  they  had  grasped,  and  substituting  the 
glamour  of  ambition,  the  desire  to  fly,  to  soar,  for  the  God- 
given  injunction,  "What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but 
to  do  justly  and  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy 
God?"  Thank  God,  there  is  one  man  of  their  own  race 
striving  to  hold  up  true  standards  of  the  Cross  instead  of  the 
golden  calf  of  the  politician. 


Each  field  lias  a  small 

flood-gate,  called  a 

"  trunk." 


10 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 


I  fear  this  is  a  dull  letter,  but  I  have  tried  to  make  you 
understand  something  of  the  situation. 

Patience  Pennington. 

Cherokee,  June  1,  1903. 
Since  last  I  wrote  I  have  been  the  sport  of  winds  and  waves. 
This  place  is  still  under  water  from  a  freshet,  and  on  Sunday, 
April  5,  there  was  a  severe  gale,  and  the  water  swept  over 
the  whole  200  acres  of  Casa  Bianca,  flowing  up  the  rice-fields 
in  an  hour.  Saturday  evening  the  hands, 
after  ploughing,  left  their  ploughs  in  the  / 

field  to  continue  work  Monday,  and  they     * 
could  not  see  the  handles  of  the  ploughs      ,'...' 
Sunday  morning.     I  went  down  Tuesday, 


J«U««   /?.HU,„s»„(i. 

Marcus  began  work  on  the  breaks. 

to  find  bridges  carried  away  and  even  the  banks  still  under 
water,  and  the  head  man  reported  five  breaks  in  the  Black 
River  bank.  It  was  impossible  to  do  anything  until  the  tide 
receded,  and  as  there  was  a  strong  east  wind  blowing  and  a 
freshet  coming  down  the  Pee  Dee,  things  looked  very  black. 
I  could  not  help  lamenting  aloud,  and  Marcus  felt  obliged 
to  offer  me  some  comfort,  so  he  said :  "Miss,  if  we  one  been 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


11 


■  v.,5'1 


12  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

a  suffer,  I'd  feel  bad,  but  eberybody  bank  bruk,  en  ebery- 
body  fiel'  flow."  This  did  not  comfort  me  at  all,  but  I  real- 
ized the  folly  of  lamenting.  Fortunately  I  had  just  bought 
3000  feet  of  boards,  and  as  soon  as  the  water  left  the  fields 
Marcus  began  work  on  the  breaks,  and  by  driving  puncheons, 
laying  ground  logs,  and  flatting  mud  and  filling  in,  the  bank 
is  up  again,  keeping  out  the  river,  and  the  fields  are  drying  off. 
The  season,  however,  has  not  waited  on  us.  April  is  gone, 
and  not  an  acre  is  planted  when  I  expected  to  have  100  acres 
growing  by  this  time.  The  worst  is  that  I  have  been  pay- 
ing out  heavily  every  week  to  put  things  back  where  they 
were  at  the  end  of  March. 

There  are  many  curious  things  about  the  planting  of  rice. 
One  can  plant  from  the  15th  of  March  to  the  15th  of  April, 
then  again  from  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  May,  and  last  for  ten 
days  in  June.  Rice  planted  between  these  seasons  falls  a  prey 
to  birds,  —  May-birds  in  the  spring  and  rice-birds  in  August 
and  September.  It  was  impossible  to  plant  in  April  this 
year,  and  now  every  one  is  pushing  desperately  to  get  what 
they  can  in  May. 

Yesterday  I  went  down  to  give  out  the  seed  rice  to  be 
clayed  for  planting  to-day.  I  keep  the  key  to  the  seed-rice 
loft,  though  Marcus  has  all  the  others.  I  took  one  hand 
up  into  the  upper  barn  while  Marcus  stayed  below,  having 
two  barrels  half  filled  with  clay  and  then  filled  with  water 
and  well  stirred  until  it  is  about  the  consistency  of  molasses. 
In  the  loft  my  man  measured  out  thirty-five  bushels  of  rice, 
turning  the  tub  into  a  spout  leading  to  the  barn  below, 
where  young  men  brought  the  clay  water  in  piggins  from  the 
barrel  and  poured  it  over  the  rice,  while  young  girls,  with  bare 
feet  and  skirts  well  tied  up,  danced  and  shuffled  the  rice  about 
with  their  feet  until  the  whole  mass  was  thoroughly  clayed, 
singing,  joking,  and  displaying  their  graceful  activity  to  the 
best  advantage.     It  is  a  pretty  sight.     When  it  is  completely 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  13 

covered  with  clay,  the  rice  is  shovelled  into  a  pyramid  and  left 
to  soak  until  the  next  morning,  when  it  is  measured  out  into 
sacks,  one  and  one-fourth  bushels  to  each  half  acre.  Two 
pairs  of  the  stoutest  oxen  on  the  plantation  are  harnessed 
to  the  rice-drills,  and  they  lumber  along  slowly  but  surely, 
and  by  twelve  o'clock  the  field  of  fourteen  acres  is  nearly 
planted. 

It  is  literally  casting  one's  bread  on  the  waters,  for  as  soon 
as  the  seed  is  in  the  ground  the  trunk  door  is  lifted  and  the 
water  creeps  slowly  up  and  up  until  it  is  about  three  inches 
deep  on  the  land.  That  is  why  the  claying  is  necessary; 
it  makes  the  grain  adhere  to  the  earth,  otherwise  it  would 
float.  Sometimes,  generally  from  prolonged  west  winds, 
the  river  is  low,  and  water  enough  to  cover  the  rice  cannot  be 
brought  in  on  one  tide,  and  then  the  blackbirds  just  settle 
on  the  field,  diminishing  the  yield  by  half. 

I  went  down  into  the  Marsh  field,  where  five  ploughs  are 
running,  preparing  for  the  June  planting.  It  is  a  26-acre 
field,  very  level  and  pretty,  and  I  am  delighted  with  the  work ; 
it  is  beautiful.  When  I  told  one  of  the  hands  how  pleased 
I  was  with  the  work,  he  said  :  "Miss,  de  Ian'  plough  so  sweet, 
we  haf  for  do'  um  good."  I  went  all  through  with  much 
pleasure,  though  I  sank  into  the  moist,  dark  brown  soil 
too  deep  for  comfort,  and  found  it  very  fatiguing  to  jump 
the  quarter  drains,  small  ditches  at  a  distance  of  200  feet 
apart,  and,  worse,  to  walk  the  very  narrow  plank  over  the 
10-foot  ditch  which  runs  all  around  the  field  and  is  very  deep. 

The  evening  is  beautiful ;  the  sun,  just  sinking  in  a  hazy, 
mellow  light,  is  a  fiery  dark  red,  the  air  is  fresh  from  the  sea, 
only  three  miles  to  the  east,  the  rice-field  banks  are  gay  with 
flowers,  white  and  blue  violets,  blackberry  blossoms,  wistaria, 
and  the  lovely  blue  jessamine,  which  is  as  sweet  as  an  orange 
blossom.  Near  the  bridge  two  negro  women  are  fishing, 
with  great  strings  of  fish  beside  them.     The  streams  are  full 


14 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


of  Virginia  perch,  bream,  and  trout ;  you  have  only  to  drop 
your  line  in  with  a  wriggling  worm  at  the  end,  and  keep  silent, 
and  you  have  fine  sport.  Then  the  men  set  their  canes  se- 
curely in  the  bank  just  before  dark  and  leave  then,  and 
almost  invariably  find  a  fish  read}''  for  breakfast  in  the  morn- 


Near  the  bridge  two  negro  women  are  fishing. 

ing.     There  is  a  saying  that  one  cannot  starve  in  this  country, 
and  it  is  true. 

As  I  drove  down  I  saw  little  children  with  buckets  and 
piggins  picking  blackberries ;  such  big,  sweet  berries,  covering 
acres  of  old  fields  which  once  were  planted  in  corn.  As  I 
walked  down  the  bank  I  found  a  "cooter"  (terrapin)  which 
had  come  out  of  the  river  to  lay  eggs.  My  excellent  Chloe 
will  make  a  delicious  soup  from  it,  or,  still  better,  bake  it 
in  the  shell.  All  winter  we  have  quantities  of  English  ducks 
in  the  rice-fields  and  partridges  and  snipe  on  the  upland,  and 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER  15 

in  the  woods  wild  turkeys  and  deer,  so  that  if  there  is  a  sports- 
man in  the  family,  one  can  live  royally  with  no  expense. 

Sheep  live  and  thrive  without  any  outlay.  In  1890  I 
exchanged  a  very  fine  two-year-old  grade  Devon,  for 
twenty  sheep.  Since  then  I  have  bought  seven  more. 
A  gale,  with  sudden  rise  of  water,  destroyed  twenty-two  at 
one  time  in  1896,  and  I  lost  ten  by  dogs,  but  notwithstanding 
these  losses,  in  the  last  seven  years  they  have  brought  me 
in  $200  by  sale  of  mutton ;  my  house  is  furnished  with 
rugs  and  blankets,  and  I  am  dressed  in  serge  made  from  their 
wool,  and  I  have  to-day  at  this  place  forty-six  sheep  and 
thirty-five  splendid  lambs.  If  I  only  could  get  the  latter 
to  a  good  market,  it  would  pay  handsomely,  for  their  keep 
has  cost  nothing.     I  have  a  Page  wire  fence  around  my  place. 

In  the  same  way  cattle  live  and  thrive  with  no  grain, 
only  straw  during  the  winter,  and  the  negroes  do  not  give 
theirs  even  straw;  they  simply  turn  them  into  the  woods, 
and  in  the  spring  look  them  up ;  find  the  cows  with  fine 
young  calves  and  ready  to  be  milked.  They  shut  the  calf 
up  in  a  pen  and  turn  the  mother  out,  and  she  ranges  the 
rich,  grassy  meadows  during  the  day,  but  always  returns 
to  her  calf  at  night.  When  she  is  milked,  half  of  the  milk 
is  left  for  the  calf.  In  this  way  the  negroes  raise  a  great 
many  cattle,  the  head  of  every  family  owning  a  pair  of  oxen 
and  one  or  two  cows. 

However,  we  cannot  turn  our  cattle  into  the  woods  as  we 
used  to  do,  for  unless  we  go  to  the  expense  of  hiring  a  man  to 
follow  them,  they  will  disappear,  and  no  trace  of  them  can  be 
found.  One  negro  will  not  testify  in  court  against  another, 
so  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  attempt  to  prosecute, 
for  there  is  no  chance  of  conviction.  You  hear  that  such  a 
man  has  been  seen  driving  off  your  animal ;  one  or  two  people 
say  they  have  seen  him  ;  you  bring  it  into  court,  and  witness 
after  witness  swears  entire  ignorance  of  the  matter. 


16  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

I,  for  instance,  have  500  acres  of  pine  land,  and  the  family- 
estate  and  my  brothers'  together  make  3000  acres  of  the  finest 
pasture  land.  Where  my  father  had  herds  of  splendid 
cattle  I  have  to  keep  my  cows  in  a  very  poor  pasture  of  twenty 
acres,  fenced  in,  and  in  consequence  have  only  five  or  six 
cows  and  one  pair  of  oxen  on  the  same  plantation  where  my 
father  used  to  stable  sixty  pair  of  oxen  during  the  winter. 
They  worked  the  rice  land  in  the  spring  and  roamed  the  woods 
and  grew  fat  in  summer. 

On  the  road  this  morning  I  met  Wishy,  who  made  many 
civil  inquiries  about  my  health.  Five  years  ago  one  morn- 
ing I  was  waked  earlier  than  usual  by  a  request  from  Wishy's 
mother,  Annette,  for  something  to  stop  bleeding.  He  had 
been  badly  cut  by  a  negro,  who  struck  him  on  the  head 
with  a  lightwood  bar.  Wishy  had  laughed  at  his  special 
flame,  who  had  gone  to  church  the  Sunday  before  with  a 
long  white  veil  on  her  hat  and  he  was  enraged.  I  sent  witch- 
hazel  and  the  simple  remedies  which  I  always  keep  for  such 
calls.  About  eleven  o'clock  another  request  came,  this  time 
to  lend  my  wagon  and  horses  to  carry  Wishy  to  town  four- 
teen miles  away,  as  his  head  was  still  bleeding.  I  was 
shocked  to  hear  that  he  was  still  losing  blood  and  told  them 
the  drive  might  be  fatal  under  the  circumstances;  I  would 
go  out  and  see  what  could  be  done. 

Hastily  getting  together  all  the  remedies  I  could  think 
of,  my  niece  and  I  drove  to  Annette's  house,  which  was 
crowded  with  eager  friends  gazing  at  the  unhappy  Wishy, 
who  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  leaning  forward  over  a 
tub,  a  man  on  each  side  supporting  him,  while  the  blood 
literally  spouted  from  his  head,  —  not  a  steady  flow  but  in 
jets.  It  was  an  awful  sight.  I  had  a  bed  made  on  the  floor 
near  the  door  and  had  him  lifted  to  it,  well  propped  up  with 
pillows,  so  that  he  was  in  a  sitting  posture.  At  that  time  we 
had  no  doctor  nearer  than  the  town,  except  a  man  who  had 


A    WOMAN   RICE   PLANTER 


17 


come  from  a  neighboring  state  under  a  cloud  of  mystery.    As 
soon  as  I  heard  of  Wishy's  condition  I  had  sent  for  him,  but 


S".v.«  — 


A  request  from  Wishy's  mother,  Annette,  for  something  to  stop 
bleeding. 


the  boy  returned,  saying  he  was  not  able  to  read  my  note,  so 

there  was  nothing  but  to  do  what  I  could  or  to  let  Wishy  die. 

I  got  Frank,   who  was  very  intelligent,   to  help  me.     I 

dipped  absorbent  cotton  in  brandy  and  then  into  powdered 

c 


18  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

alum,  and  put  it  into  the  hole  in  the  top  of  Wishy's  head ; 
it  seemed  a  gulf  !  I  put  in  more  and  more,  having  Frank 
hold  his  hands  closely  around  the  top  of  the  head ;  but  still 
the  blood  flowed.  Then  I  sprinkled  the  powdered  alum 
over  all  thickly  until  there  was  only  one  little  round  hole 
just  in  the  middle;  I  made  a  little  ball  of  cotton  and  alum 
and  pressed  it  down  into  the  hole  with  my  finger  and  it 
was  done.  I  gave  him  the  milk  I  had  carried,  had  the  house 
cleared  of  people,  and  left,  ordering  that  when  the  doctor 
came,  I  should  be  sent  for. 

A  day  passed,  and  when  I  sent  milk,  the  message  came  back 
that  the  doctor  had  been  there,  looked  at  him,  and  gone  away. 
I  began  to  feel  very  unhappy  over  the  heterogeneous  contents 
of  Wishy's  head,  but  if  I  had  not  stopped  the  flow  in  some 
way,  he  would  have  been  dead  certainly  —  his  pulse  was 
just  a  flutter.  I  tried  not  to  worry  over  it.  The  third  day 
a  runner  came  to  say:  "De  docta'  cum."  With  all  speed 
I  had  Prue  put  in  the  buckboard  and  drove  out.  I  had 
never  seen  the  doctor  and  was  surprised  to  find  a  fine-looking 
man  in  possession  of  the  cabin.  He  called  for  a  razor,  said 
he  could  do  nothing  until  he  shaved  Wishy's  head.  There 
was  confusion  among  the  numerous  darkies  who  crowded  round 
the  house.  At  last  it  was  agreed  that  Uncle  Jack  had  the 
only  razor  in  the  street  (as  they  call  the  negro  quarters) 
that  could  cut.  While  a  woman  went  for  the  razor,  the  doctor 
told  Annette  he  must  have  hot  water,  and  she  proceeded  to 
put  a  tomato  can  full  of  water  on  the  fire ;  but  he  peremp- 
torily ordered  a  large  pot  carefully  washed,  filled  with  water, 
and  put  on  the  fire.  When  the  razor  came,  it  was  too  dull 
to  be  of  any  use  until  the  doctor  had  sharpened  it,  and  then 
he  shaved  all  of  the  woolly  head. 

I  watched  the  man's  proceedings  with  a  growing  feeling 
of  shame.  I  had  gone  there  to  keep  my  eye  on  him,  to  pre- 
vent any  roughness  or  carelessness  to  the  patient,  and  he 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  19 

could  not  have  been  gentler  or  more  interested  and  careful  if  he 
had  been  treating  the  Prince  of  Wales  himself.  It  was  a  long 
business ;  with  an  endless  stream  of  hot  water  from  a  foun- 
tain-syringe he  removed  from  the  hollow  depths  of  Wishy's 
skull  all  the  wonderful  packing  with  which  I  had  filled  it, 
and  I  went  away  satisfied. 

Day  after  day  for  three  weeks  he  came  and  dressed  the 
wound,  until  Wishy's  head  was  restored  to  its  normal  state. 
Then  he  sent  a  bill  for  $20,  which  Wishy  begged  me  to  pay, 
and  he  would  gradually  return  the  money  to  me  as  he  worked. 
Of  course,  I  paid  it,  and,  sad  to  say,  not  one  dollar  has  ever 
been  returned  to  me.  Wishy  married  the  next  winter,  and 
moved  to  a  neighboring  plantation.  He  has  never  even 
sent  me  a  string  of  herring,  though  he  has  had  a  net  for  two 
years  and  caught  great  quantities  which  he  sold  readily  at 
a  cent  apiece. 

During  the  run  of  herring  in  the  spring  they  crowd  up  the 
little  streams  in  the  most  extraordinary  way,  just  piling  on 
top  of  each  other  in  their  haste  to  reach  the  very  source  of 
the  stream,  apparently.  I  suppose  one  little  leader  must 
wave  its  little  tail  and  cry  "excelsior"  to  the  others.  At 
a  small  bridge  over  a  shallow  creek  near  here  a  barrelful  has 
been  taken  with  a  dip-net  in  an  afternoon.  But  it  takes 
a  meditative,  not  to  say  an  idle  person,  to  watch  for  the 
special  day  and  hour  when  the  herring  are  seized  by  the  im- 
pulse to  ascend  that  particular  stream. 

I  must  stop  now,  not  having  said  anything  I  meant  to  say, 
having  been  led  away  by  the  thought  of  my  lost  $20  and 
how  very  useful  it  would  be  to  me  now,  and  I  will  have  to 
leave  other  things  for  another  day. 

Patience  Pennington. 

P.S.  In  future  I  will  not  write  you  a  letter,  but  keep  a 
diary  and  send  you  a  few  sheets  from  time  to  time.      P.  P. 


20  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

Peacevtlle,  September  1. 

Had  a  trying  day  at  the  plantation,  making  an  effort  to 
get  hay  properly  stacked,  and  was  detained  late.  I  had  told 
Jonadab  to  wash  the  buckboard  and  grease  the  wheels, 
which  he  had  done  very  thoroughly,  for  I  could  hear  the 
grease  crackling,  and  Ruth  was  travelling  very  fast  when 
the  world  seemed  to  come  to  an  end. 

I  did  not  know  what  had  happened,  but  flew  to  Ruth's 
head  and  quieted  her,  though  she  had  dragged  the  buck- 
board  some  distance  before  I  could  stop  her.  I  do  not  know 
what  became  of  Dab  at  first,  for  I  didn't  see  him  until  I  had 
stopped  Ruth,  when  he  came  up,  stuttering  fearfully,  and 
said :  — 

"The  wheel  is  lef  behind." 

The  front  wheel  had  rolled  off.  I  told  him  to  go  and  bring 
it  and  put  it  on,  though  I  did  not  see  how  he  was  to  do  it 
alone  and  I  could  not  possibly  help,  as  it  was  all  I  could  do 
to  hold  Ruth.  Jonadab,  however,  has  a  way  of  surprising 
me  by  unexpected  capacity,  just  as  a  variety  from  my  con- 
stant surprise  over  his  awkwardness. 

On  this  occasion  he  held  the  wheel  in  one  hand  while  he 
lifted  the  axle  with  the  other  and  got  the  wheel  on.  Then 
I  sent  him  to  look  for  the  nut,  but  I  felt  it  was  a  forlorn  chance, 
for  it  was  now  quite  dark.  I  was  in  despair ;  we  were  three 
and  a  half  miles  from  Peaceville,  and  if  I  walked,  I  would 
have  to  leave  all  my  impedimenta  and  only  take  my  basket 
of  keys  and  other  small  things,  such  as  my  diary. 

Most  of  the  planters  go  home  at  sunset,  and  I  feared  they 
had  all  passed,  and  I  could  not  see  my  way  to  any  solution. 
Just  as  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  even  my  resourceful 
mind  could  find  no  way  out  of  the  darkness,  two  buggies 
drove  up  and  the  gentlemen  asked  what  they  could  do  for 
me.     I  explained  the  situation,  and  one  of  them  said  :  — 

"If  you  will  drive  with  me,  Miss  Pennington,  Mr.  B.  will 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  21 

take  your  things ;  the  boy  can  ride  the  horse,  and  we  will 
leave  the  buckboard  here  until  to-morrow." 

I  accepted  the  hospitality  of  his  buggy  with  many  thanks. 
The  transfer  of  freight  was  made.  Dab  took  Ruth  out,  and 
I  rolled  the  vehicle  into  the  woods,  as  I  could  not  bear  that 
my  buckboard  should  be  left  on  the  roadside,  a  spectacle 
of  a  breakdown.  Just  as  it  was  all  accomplished  Dab  stam- 
mered out :  — • 

"I  findde  nut." 

Great  surprise,  for  this  was  fully  100  yards  in  front  of  the 
spot  where  the  wheel  had  run  off,  but  he  said  he  felt  it  under 
his  foot  and  picked  it  up  and  showed  it  in  his  hand.  Mr. 
H.  said  :  — • 

"That  boy  could  never  have  put  the  nut  on  at  all  after 
greasing  it !" 

Dab  was  vociferous  as  to  his  having  put  it  on  and  screwed 
it  tight.  I  was  beyond  conjecture,  and  too  thankful  to 
question.  Very  rapidly  the  transfer  was  made  back  to  my 
vehicle,  Mr.  H.  remarking,  "Your  buckboard  takes  easily 
more  than  our  two  buggies." 

I  thanked  them  heartily  for  their  chivalrous  aid,  and  we 
all  drove  on  home. 

After  the  agitation  had  somewhat  subsided,  I  asked  Dab, 
who  was  sitting  behind,  if  he  had  really  put  the  tap  on  or 
not.     He  answered  with  great  certainty  :  — 

"Yes,  ma'am;  yes,  ma'am;  I  did  put  it  on;  I  know  I 
did,  en  screwed  it  tight  —  " 

I  did  not  contradict  him,  but  said,  "Think  about  it;  go 
back  in  your  mind  and  remember  just  what  you  did,  and 
where  you  put  the  nut  when  you  took  off  this  wheel,  which 
you  say  you  greased  last." 

After  two  miles  in  silence  I  heard  convulsed  sounds  from 
the  back,  and  finally  out  came  "  No-o-o,  Miss  Pashuns ;  no 
ma'am,  I  never  put  that  nut  on ;  I  put  it  on  the  front  o' 


22  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  buckboard,  an'  when  I  put  the  wheel  on,  I  went  for  a 
drink  of  water,  and  never  did  put  the  nut  back  —  no,  ma'am, 
I  never  put  it  back.  I  left  it  setting  on  the  front  of  the 
buckboard." 

When  Dab  finally  gets  started  after  stuttering  and  splut- 
tering, he  cannot  bear  to  stop  talking,  but  keeps  repeating  his 
statement  over  and  over  with  delight  at  the  glib  way  in  which 
the  words  come  out,  and  I  have  to  say  mildly,  "That  will  do, 
Dab,"  and  even  then  I  hear  him  saying  them  over  to  himself. 

After  stopping  his  flow  of  speech  I  told  him  it  was  a  great 
relief  to  know  exactly  what  had  happened,  and  I  hoped  it 
would  be  a  lesson  to  him  all  his  life  and  make  him  feel  that  he 
was  a  responsible  being ;  that  I  trusted  him  with  important 
work,  and  how  if  it  had  not  been  for  God's  great  goodness, 
I  might  be  lying  on  the  road  with  a  broken  neck  and  he  with 
both  legs  broken.  I  did  all  I  could  to  make  him  feel  what  a 
mercy  it  had  been,  and  he  seemed  deeply  impressed.  Ruth 
behaved  beautifully  during  the  whole  thing,  so  I  gave  her  a 
saucer  of  sugar  when  we  got  home. 

Saturday,  September  9. 

Have  been  ill  ever  since  the  happy  incident  the  other  night, 
but  this  afternoon  I  felt  impelled  to  go  into  the  plantation. 
I  had  planned  to  send  Chloe  in  with  the  money  for  Bonaparte 
to  pay  off,  but  at  the  last  minute  got  up  and  went  myself. 

As  soon  as  he  saw  me  Green  said  :  "  Glad  you  cum,  ma'am. 
Nana's  got  de  colic  tumble  en  we  dunno  w'at  to  do  fur  her." 

I  forgot  that  I  was  myself  decrepit  and  flew  to  the  house 
and  got  a  bottle  of  colic  cure  and  a  box  of  axle-grease.  I 
always  keep  aconite,  but  had  none,  but  fortunately  had  not 
returned  this  bottle  of  horse  medicine  which  I  had  borrowed 
when  Ruth  was  sick.  It  said  a  teaspoonful  every  half  hour, 
but  I  knew  my  time  was  short  and  Nana  was  desperately  ill, 
so  I  gave  a  teaspoonful  every  ten  minutes. 

She  would  just  throw  her  great  body  down  with  such  force 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  23 

that  it  seemed  she  must  break  every  bone  in  it,  roll  over  and 
over,  and  pick  herself  up  and  flop  down  again  before  you  could 
attempt  to  head  her  off.  While  she  was  down,  I  made  Green 
and  Dab  rub  her  heavily  with  axle-grease. 

I  myself  put  the  medicine  in  her  mouth,  holding  her 
head  up  and  her  lips  tight  together  until  she  had  swallowed 
it.  She  has  such  confidence  in  me  that  she  did  not  resist  at 
all,  but  kept  quite  still  while  I  did  it.  I  gave  her  six  doses, 
and  then  it  was  dark,  and  I  suddenly  became  aware  that 
I  was  very  tired  and  could  do  no  more.  I  told  Nana  good- 
by,  for  I  never  expect  to  see  her  again. 

My  poor  dear  little  Irish  terrier,  who  is  my  shadow  and 
constant  companion,  is  very  ill.  For  three  days  he  has 
neither  eaten  nor  drunk.  His  throat  seems  paralyzed, 
and  he  looks  at  me  with  such  superhuman  eyes  that  it  makes 
me  miserable,  for  I  can  do  nothing  for  him. 

I  take  a  bowl  of  water  to  him  and  he  buries  his  little  nose 
in  it,  but  cannot  swallow  or  even  snuff  it  up.  I  can  get 
nothing  down  his  throat,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  treat  him. 

Sunday. 

Poor  little  Snap  was  so  ill  and  made  such  a  constant 
appeal  to  me  for  help  which  I  could  not  give,  that  I  felt  it 
was  cruel  to  let  him  suffer  longer,  so  I  sent  to  Miss  Penelope 
for  a  bottle  of  chloroform.  He  followed  me  from  room  to 
room,  a  feeble  skeleton,  all  eyes,  and  still  I  tried  to  give  him 
milk,  and  when  he  turned  his  head  from  that,  I  gave  him  water 
into  which  he  would  feebly  clip  his  little  black-tipped  mouth. 

At  last  I  took  him  in  my  arms  and  put  him  on  a  soft 
cushion  in  a  tall  banana  box ;  then  I  cut  several  pieces  of 
very  savory  roast  beef  and  put  them  all  around  his  little 
muzzle.  He  could  not  eat  them,  but  he  could  smell  them, 
and  I  could  see  by  his  eye  that  it  was  a  comfort  to  him  to 
have  them  there. 


24  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

Then  I  filled  a  sponge  with  chloroform  and  put  it  into  a 
cone  which  I  had  made  of  pasteboard  and  put  it  over  his 
head  and  covered  up  the  whole  thing  with  a  heavy  rug. 
After  two  hours  I  sent  Dab  to  look  in,  and  he  came  back 
radiant  to  say  that  Snap  was  quite  well. 

I  went  to  look,  and  the  dear  little  doggie  roused  himself 
from  a  delightful  nap  to  look  at  me.  All  expression  of 
suffering  and  appeal  was  gone  from  his  eyes.  He  looked 
supremely  happy  and  comfortable,  and  after  glancing  up 
at  me  he  tucked  his  head  down  on  the  roast  beef  and  went  to 
sleep  again. 

I  wet  the  sponge  and  once  more  left  him.  When  I  took 
him  out  the  next  morning,  I  could  not  believe  he  was  dead, 
so  perfectly  happy  and  natural  did  he  look.  Dab  dug  his 
grave  in  my  little  garden,  and  I  laid  him  to  rest,  feeling  the 
loneliest  mortal  on  earth  when  I  got  through. 

September. 

When  I  went  in  to  Cherokee  yesterday,  I  was  amazed  to 
find  Nana  quite  recovered.  I  had  told  Bonaparte  if  she 
showed  any  disposition  to  eat,  to  give  her  rough  rice  instead 
of  either  oats  or  corn,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a  happy 
thought,  for  it  has  agreed  with  her,  and  though  weak  still 
and  much  skinned  and  bruised  by  the  way  she  threw  herself 
about,  she  seemed  quite  well. 

This  is  the  eighty-eighth  birthday  of  the  sainted  friend 
whom  I  visit  every  day.  Every  one  in  the  little  village  sent 
her  some  little  offering,  so  that  her  room  was  full  of  flowers 
and  dainty  trifles,  and  she  enjoyed  them  so  much.  Though 
unable  to  eat  anything  and  nearly  blind,  her  interest  in 
everything  and  everybody  is  vivid. 

This  afternoon,  as  Dab  was  putting  the  demijohn  of  milk 
in  the  box  preparatory  to  leaving  Cherokee,  and  I  was 
standing  in  front  of  him  screwing  the  top  on  the  jar  of  cream 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  25 

to  put  in  the  same  box,  suddenly  he  dropped  the  demijohn 
and  leaped  in  the  air,  uttering  the  most  terrific  Comanche 
yells  I  ever  heard.  I  nearly  dropped  the  jar  of  cream  at 
the  sound ;   he  fled  away  still  yelling. 

My  mind  is  fertile  in  horrors,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "The 
boy  has  gone  mad  !"     I  was  terror  struck. 

When  he  finally  stopped,  some  distance  away,  I  called  out, 
"What  is  the  matter,  Jonadab?"  He  just  pointed  to  a 
spot  near  where  I  stood  and  began  to  yell  again,  "Snake  run 
across  my  foot." 

The  relief  was  so  great  that  I  looked  composedly  on  the 
big  snake,  but  called  in  a  tone  of  unwonted  severity,  "You 
must  come  and  kill  it."  I  knew  the  only  thing  to  prevent 
Dab  from  going  into  a  fit  was  to  be  severe  in  my  tone,  and 
peremptory. 

Most  reluctantly  and  slowly  he  returned.  I  cannot 
imagine  why  the  snake  elected  to  stay  in  the  ivy  to  meet 
its  fate ;  it  was  sluggish,  evidently  having  swallowed  some- 
thing large,  either  a  rat  or  another  snake,  for  it  was  very 
stout.  I  made  Dab  find  a  long  strong  stick.  It  required 
continued  urging  and  encouragement  to  get  Dab  to  complete 
the  job,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  done  and  he  felt  himself  victor 
over  the  thing  which  had  terrified  him  so,  he  became  puffed 
up  with  pride  and  courage. 

September  30. 

The  storm  is  over,  and  all  nature  is  smiling.  Oh,  the 
beauty  of  the  sunshine  falling  on  the  dark  green  pines  and 
the  ecstasy  of  the  song  of  the  mocking-bird,  who  is  perched 
on  a  tall  pine  just  east  of  the  piazza,  splitting  his  little  throat, 
trying  to  give  vent  to  his  joy  and  thanksgiving  to  the  Great 
Father  !  If  one  could  only  bottle  up  a  little  of  this  sunshine 
and  glory  and  ecstasy  to  bring  out  on  some  gray  morning 
when  one's  blessings  seem  too  far  away  to  be  remembered  ! 

I  am  just  writing  a  line  while  Dab  is  having  his  breakfast 


26  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

and  putting  Ruth  in  the  buckboard  before  we  start  for 
Cherokee  to  see  the  damage  done  by  the  winds  and  the  deluge 
of  rain  which  fell  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  cotton  had 
opened  more  fully  Saturday  than  it  yet  had  done,  but  a 
slight  drizzle  prevented  its  being  picked.  I  fear  the  hay 
which  was  stacked  will  all  have  to  be  taken  down. 

8  p.m.  —  Spent  the  day  at  Cherokee  fighting  with  incom- 
petency and  unwillingness. 

The  loose,  irregular  stacks  of  hay  were,  of  course,  wet  to 
the  heart,  and  I  had  them  taken  down  entirely,  much  to 
Green's  dismay.  He  thought  it  purely  folly  and  fussiness, 
and  I  had  to  stand  by  and  see  it  done,  lending  a  helping 
hand  now  and  then,  to  get  it  done  at  all. 

He  was  loud  in  his  abuse  of  Gibbey,  his  brother,  for  his 
incompetency  and  determination  not  to  work,  saying, 
"He's  too  striffim'  to  lib,"  but  that  he  himself  was  capable 
of  everything ;  not  only  stacking  hay,  but  everything  else, 
he  did  in  the  most  perfect  way.  I  let  him  talk  on,  for  his 
manner  was  respectful,  and  I  was  really  interested  and  amused 
to  see  unveiled  his  opinion  of  himself. 

It  would  be  very  comfortable  to  see  one's  self  in  that  perfect 
light,  instead  of  being  always  so  fiercely  conscious  of  one's 
own  shortcomings.     I  almost  envied  Green  his  fool's  paradise. 

I  went  to  a  stack  which  he  assured  he  had  '"zamined,  an' 
it  was  puffectly  dry,  'cause,  I  put  dat  stack  up  myself." 
With  ease  I  ran  my  hand  in  up  to  the  elbow  and  brought  out 
a  handful  of  soaking  wet  hay.  But  that  had  no  effect ;  he 
said  that  was  some  he  had  just  thrown  back,  fearing  to  have 
it  exposed,  as  it  might  rain,  looking  wisely  at  the  clear  sky. 

One  has  to  pray  inwardly  all  the  time  to  keep  from  a 
mighty  outburst.  He  is  better  than  any  one  else  I  could 
get  just  now. 

Spent  some  time  in  the  cotton-field  seeing  that  the  first 
pickings  were  spread  on  sheets  in  the  sun  so  as  to  dry  thor- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  27 

oughly.  I  had  put  some  peanuts  in  my  pockets  for  the  little 
girls,  Jean  and  Kitty,  and  I  stayed  talking  to  them  a  little 
while. 

They  have  up  to  this  time  " minded  child,"  that  is,  each 
has  lived  with  a  married  sister  and  taken  care  of  their  ^ 
babies.  They  do  not  look  as  though  they  had  enjoyed  ,  'j 
life,  nor  have  they  learned  anything,  and  I  'A 

am  anxious  to  brighten  them  up  a  little  w|k  j-'^, 

and  teach  them  to  take  an  interest  and      ^j|^v  iA '"  ' 

pride  in  their  work.     Thus  far  I  cannot     l»»>ia 


boast  of  my  success,  as  to-day  Jean  picked 
six  pounds  and  Kitty  four  ! 


mil 


October  1.  >JftfeiS2^*Ei 

Another  gorgeous  autumn  day,    i^^^^^^-0^^^^^^51" 
with  just  enough  white  clouds  fly- 
ing here  and  there  to  make  shad- 
ows.    The  cowpeas  were  picked  to-  ""'8M' 
i              ■,  ,  i                ,         •       n      ,             i        Green  thought  it  was 
day,  and  they  are  bearing  finely,  and         folly  aud  fussiness. 

the  people  know  how  to  pick  them  ;  it 

is  not  like  the  cotton.  One  woman  who  never  can  pick  more 
than  twenty  pounds  of  cotton  had  seventy  pounds  of  peas, 
and  Eva  had  ninety  pounds.  I  feel  better  satisfied  with  the 
day's  work  than  usual. 

I  got  the  hay  which  had  been  dried  put  in  the  barn,  which 
is  much  better  than  stacking  it,  when  no  one  knows  how, 
but  I  could  only  do  that  because  the  ground  is  too  wet  to 
run  the  mowing  machine ;  thus  I  could  use  the  team  to  haul 
in  the  hay.  One  of  the  renters  came  up  and  paid  his  money 
quite  voluntarily,  which  is  so  unusual  that  it  put  me  in  good 
spirits  for  the  day. 

October  3. 

To-day  is  too  beautiful  for  words.  As  I  went  into  the 
sun-swept  piazza  this  morning  I  felt,  like  the  mocking-birds, 


28  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

an  ecstasy  of  gratitude  for  so  much  beauty.  I  did  wish  so 
I  could  take  a  day  off  and  sit  in  the  piazza  and  just  bask  in 
the  beauty  of  everything  and  breathe  the  crisp  freshness  of 
the  first  fall  weather  and  sew. 

I  am  making  a  suit  of  white  flannel  woven  from  the  wool 
of  my  own  sheep.  I  have  embroidered  the  re  vers  and  cuffs 
of  the  jacket  and  nearly  finished  it,  and  want  it  to  wear 
these  delightfully  cool  mornings,  but  I  cannot  stay  to-day. 

I  must  get  through  my  home  duties  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  make  my  daily  visit  to  the  bedside  of  my  saintly  friend, 
who,  having  begun  her  life  in  wealth  and  having  in  middle 
age  been  reduced  to  poverty,  has  passed  fourscore  and  eight 
years,  a  beautiful  example  of  woman,  wife,  and  mother,  and 
is  now  slowly  passing  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow. 
This  is  my  greatest  pleasure  and  privilege,  and  whatever 
other  duty  is  hurried  over,  to  this  I  give  full  time. 

To  hold  daily  converse  with  one  who,  after  lying  three 
months  in  hourly  pain,  is  serene  and  calm,  nay,  joyous  with 
gratitude  for  His  many  mercies  (which  some  might  need  a 
microscope  to  discover),  is  a  rare  opportunity  of  seeing  a  true 
follower  of  the  Blessed  One,  and  I  come  away  always  feeling 
as  though  I  had  quenched  my  thirst  at  a  living  stream, 
refreshed  and  strengthened. 

On  the  plantations,  too,  things  look  bright.  The  pea-vine 
hay  is  falling  heavy  and  sweet  behind  the  mowing  machine, 
and  what  was  cut  yesterday  has  dried  nicely  and  will  be 
raked  into  windrows  this  afternoon.  The  crab-grass  hay  is 
also  dry  and  ready  to  be  stacked  again.  The  cotton  is  open- 
ing well,  and  we  can  make  a  good  picking  to-morrow. 

As  I  went  into  the  pea-field,  where  the  women  were  sing- 
ing as  they  picked,  I  came  upon  a  spider  who  was  too  large 
to  stand  upon  a  silver  dollar.  I  was  most  reluctant  to  kill 
him,  for  he  was  doubtless  the  Hitachiyama  of  his  race. 

He  scorned  to  run,  or  even  move  quickly  away,  so  sure 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  29 

was  he  that  he  was  invincible  and  need  fear  no  foe,  and  it 
did  seem  too  unfair  to  crush  out  his  little  greatness,  but  the 
bite  of  such  a  spider  would  mean  serious  illness,  if  not  death, 
and  there  were  all  the  women,  most  of  them  with  bare  feet, 
to  run  the  risk  of  being  stung,  so  I  dealt  the  fatal  blow. 

Some  of  the  women  picked  ninety  pounds,  and  Jean  picked 
forty  and  Kitty  thirty-six. 

October  4. 

Job  knew  what  he  was  talking  about  when  he  said  :  "Man 
is  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  upward."  I  went  to 
Cherokee  in  quite  an  excitement  this  morning  because  the 
cotton-field  was  snowy  yesterday  and  I  expected  to  make  a 
big  picking,  but  last  night,  on  a  plantation  three  miles  away, 
an  old  woman  died  and  not  a  creature  has  come  out  to  work. 

Eva  is  the  "Presidence  of  the  Dessiety,"  her  son  tells  me, 
to  which  Linette  belonged,  and  so,  of  course,  she  could  not 
be  expected  to  work  to-day,  but  the  other  women  have  no 
such  eminence  nor  can  they  claim  kin  nor  even  friendship  : 
meanwhile  should  the  weather  change  and  a  rain  come  down, 
my  precious  cotton  will  be  ruined. 

October  5. 

Another  brilliant  morning,  but  no  hands  in  the  cotton- 
field  but  Eva.  She,  having  accomplished  the  duties  falling 
on  her  as  "presidence"  of  the  burial  society  and  pinked  out 
yards  and  yards  of  frilling  for  the  dressing  of  the  coffin  and 
shroud  and  sat  up  all  last  night,  did  not  feel  bound  to  remain 
to  the  funeral,  as  they  had  not  been  friends ;  indeed  the 
departed  Linette  had  been  the  cause  of  great  domestic 
infelicity  to  Eva,  so  she  came  and  picked  her  usual  thirty- 
five  pounds  alone. 

I  sent  Dab  to  pick  for  a  short  time,  and  he  did  very  well, 
picking  eleven  pounds  in  about  an  hour.  Then  I  went  in 
and  picked  for  about  fifteen  minutes  myself. 

I  wanted  to  find  out  what  the  difficulty  was.     I  picked 


30  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

a  pound  and  a  half  and  found  it  very  easy  and  interesting, 
even  exciting  work,  and  I  am  no  wiser  than  I  was  before. 
If  I  was  not  afraid  of  the  sun,  I  would  have  gone  on  all  day, 
or  rather  until  2  o'clock,  for  it  clouded  up  after  that,  and  I 
came  home  in  a  pouring  rain,  which  continues  at  bedtime. 

October  6. 

A  beautiful  bright  Sunday  after  a  night  of  heavy  rain. 
The  thought  of  the  wasting  cotton  had  to  be  sternly  put 
aside.  I  had  to  visit  the  wonderful  invalid  before  I  could 
get  rid  of  the  nagging  thought,  "If  only  the  cotton  had  been 
picked  !  "  After  that  the  glorious  sunshine  and  singing  birds 
had  their  full  value,  and  the  seventh-day  peace  reigned 
within  as  well  as  without. 

I  have  a  little  class  in  the  afternoon  on  my  piazza  for  a 
Sunday  lesson,  eight  little  boys  and  one  golden-haired, 
blue-eyed  little  girl.  At  first,  I  had  some  difficulty  in  getting 
them  to  come,  for  they  always  have  such  a  good  time  play- 
ing that  it  seemed  to  them  a  great  waste  of  the  golden  hours 
to  come  to  Sunday-school. 

Some  of  them  said  they  were  willing  to  come  and  sing 
hymns,  but  they  did  not  want  any  lesson.  However,  I 
found  one  little  fellow  who  wanted  the  lesson,  so  I  told  him 
to  invite  any  one  who  wanted  the  lesson  to  come  with  him 
at  4.30  o'clock  the  next  Sunday  afternoon,  but  no  one  else. 

Punctually  at  the  hour  three  little  boys  and  one  little  girl 
arrived,  while  the  other  boys  in  the  village  played  up  and 
down  before  my  gate  most  ostentatiously,  so  that  little 
heads  could  not  help  turning  to  see  what  was  going  on,  and 
in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  Commandments,  I  heard  a  squeaky 
little  voice,  "I  wonder  what  those  fellows  are  laughing  at !" 
for  they  had  got  up  a  great  burst  out  in  the  road,  quite  a 
stage  laugh. 

However,  we  got  through  comfortably  and  went  into  the 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


She  picked  her  usual  thirty-five  pounds  alone. 


32  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

sitting-room  to  the  piano,  and  I  asked  each  one  to  choose 
a  hymn  which  we  sang.  At  the  second  hymn  one  of  the  boys 
from  the  road  joined  us,  but  I  seemed  unconscious  of  his  pres- 
ence, and  when  the  singing  was  over,  I  invited  the  first  four  into 
the  dining-room  and  handed  them  some  little  sponge  cakes. 

The  next  Sunday  there  was  a  full  attendance  and  has  been 
ever  since.  The  lesson  has  to  be  carefully  selected,  as  there 
are  four  denominations  represented,  so  I  take  the  Lambeth 
platform  and  teach  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the 
Ten  Commandments.  After  that  I  tell  them  Bible  stories, 
beginning  with  the  thrilling  narration  of  the  Creation  and  the 
Garden  of  Eden. 

When  I  first  told  how  Eve  was  tempted  to  eat  the  fatal 
apple,  and  Adam  too  was  tempted,  and  they  were  driven  out 
from  that  beautiful  spot  to  earn  their  living  in  the  sweat  of 
their  brows,  the  interest  was  breathless,  and  one  little  fellow 
asked :  — 

"Miss  Patience,  what  would  have  happened  if  they  had 
never  eaten  the  apple  ?  Would  they  have  stayed  in  the 
garden?" 

"Yes,"  I  said  with  confidence. 

"And  never  had  to  wear  any  clothes  ?" 

More  faintly  I  answered  "No,  I  suppose  not." 

"Well,"  he  said,  "the  garden  would  have  had  to  be  made 
much  bigger  for  all  the  children  that  were  to  come." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "I  suppose  the  whole  world  would  have 
been  a  garden,"  but  I  was  glad  to  leave  the  subject  and  get 
on  to  firmer  ground. 

However,  this  Sunday  when  I  asked  them  to  tell  me  the 
story,  they  went  on  swimmingly  until  I  asked  who  ate  the 
apple  first.     Most  chivalrously  they  all  answered,  "Adam." 

"No,"  I  said,  "I  am  sorry  to  say  it  was  Eve." 

"Then,"  piped  up  the  squeaky  little  voice,  "then,  Miss 
Patience,  women  are  badder  than  men." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  33 

"Oh,  no,"  I  exclaimed,  "but  Eve  was  beguiled  by  the 
serpent,  who  told  her  the  fruit  would  make  her  wise.  The 
great  Creator  made  man  first,  and  meant  him  to  be  the 
protector  and  guide  of  the  woman,  and  when  she  offered  him 
the  apple,  he  should  have  refused  and  said,  'Light  of  my 
eyes,  we  must  not  eat  it.  The  Great  Being  who  made  us 
and  gave  us  this  beautiful  home  forbid  us  to  eat  of  that 
fruit.'  But  Adam  failed  in  his  duty  and  ate  the  apple,  and 
they  were  driven  out." 

My  sturdy  little  brown-eyed  thinker,  who  had  been  lis- 
tening with  profound  attention,  said  :  — 

"Miss  Patience,  what  would  have  happened  if  Eve  had 
eat  the  apple  and  Adam  hadn't?" 

I  was  completely  routed.  "I  cannot  think  what  would 
have  happened  then." 

There  was  a  chorus  of  little  voices  :  "Why,  Eve  would  have 
been  driven  out,  and  he  would  have  the  garden  for  hisself." 

I  am  quite  sure  when  I  was  small  we  never  asked  such 
questions.  Perhaps  when  it  was  read,  as  it  used  to  be,  in 
the  Bible  language,  it  did  not  take  such  hold  on  the  mind  as 
it  does  when  narrated,  but  I  am  so  eager  to  get  their  interest 
and  attention  that  I  tell  them  the  stories  instead  of  reading 
them,  and  with  such  success  that  nothing  but  force  could 
keep  them  away. 

Always  have  to  light  the  lamp  before  we  finish  singing,  but 
no  one  will  give  up  his  hymn,  and  as  I  read  over  each  verse  very 
slowly  before  we  sing  it,  and  they  repeat  it  after  me,  it  takes  a 
good  while.    It  is  wonderful  how  quickly  they  learn  the  words. 

One  very  small  boy,  who  strayed  in  for  the  first  time, 
when  I  told  him  he  could  choose  a  hymn  asked  for  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  greatly  to  the  amusement  of  those  who  had  been 
coming  two  months.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  teach  such  bright 
children.  At  the  end  I  always  hand  a  few  chocolates  or 
some  candy. 


31 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


$mm^ 


111' 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


35 


Casa  Bianca,  October  8,  1903. 

The  harvest  has  come  and  with  it  real  harvest  weather  — 

crisp,  cool,  clear ;    and  the  bowed  heads  of  the  golden  grain 

glow    in    the    sun-  shine.     The  hurricane  which 

was    reported       x"- ;-  ^^^_       as  wandering  around  last 


week  fright- 
after   wait- 
day,   and 
to  materi- 
on  Thurs 


ened  me  terribly,  but 

ing  Monday,  Tues- 

Wednesday  for  it 

fiJlilM      alize,  I  had  to  cut 

the  rice 


Wife  \  Wffl¥vJ''$'  fe 


"  You  see  a  stack  of  rice  approaching,  and  you  perceive  a  pair  of 
legs,  or  a  skirt,  as  the  case  may  be,  peeping  from  beneath." 

was  full  ripe,  and  though  we  have  had  some  light  showers, 
there  has  been  no  serious  bad  weather.  To-day  the  hands 
are  "toting"  the  rice  into  the  flats. 

You  see  a  stack  of  rice  approaching,  and  as  it  makes  its 
way  across  the  plank  which  bridges  the  big  ditch,  you  per- 
ceive a  pair  of  legs  or  a  skirt,  as  the  case  may  be,  peeping 
from  beneath.  Men,  women,  and  children  all  carry,  what 
look  like  immense  loads,  on  their  heads,  apparently  without 


36  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

effort.  This  is  the  gayest  week  of  the  year.  Thursday  the 
field  was  cut  down  by  the  hands  with  small  reap-liooks,  the 
long  golden  heads  being  carefully  laid  on  the  tall  stubble  to 
dry  until  the  next  day,  when  it  was  tied  into  sheaves,  which 
the  negroes  do  very  skilfully  with  a  wisp  of  the  rice  itself. 
Saturday  it  was  stacked  in  small  cocks  to  dry  through 
Sunday,  and  to-day  it  is  being  loaded  into  the  flats,  having 
had  every  advantage  of  weather. 

If  only  no  rain  or  wind  comes  until  it  is  unloaded  at 
Cherokee,  fifteen  miles  up  the  river  !  I  have  sent  for  a  tug 
to  tow  the  two  flats  up  on  the  flood-tide  this  evening  —  just 
now  it  is  dead  low  water,  and  the  flats  are  aground,  which 
always  scares  me ;  for,  if  by  any  chance  they  get  on  a  log  or 
any  inequality,  they  get  badly  strained  and  often  leak  and 
ruin  the  rice.  Flats  are  one  of  the  heavy  expenses  on  a  rice 
plantation  —  large,  flat-bottomed  boats  from  twenty  to 
eighty  feet  long  and  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  wide,  propelled 
in  the  most  primitive  way  by  poles  and  steered  by  one  huge 
oar  at  the  stern.  They  can  be  loaded  up  very  high  if  the 
rice  is  properly  stowed. 

I  have  sent  to  try  and  get  some  rice-birds  for  my  dinner. 
These  are  the  most  delicious  little  morsels,  so  small  one  can 
easily  eat  six  for  breakfast,  and  a  man  makes  nothing  of  a 
dozen  for  dinner.  We  used  to  get  them  in  great  abundance 
only  a  few  years  ago,  but  now  the  rice-bird  industry  has 
become  so  big  a  thing  we  find  it  very  hard  to  get  any  at  all. 
Formerly  a  planter  hired  bird  minders,  furnished  powder 
and  shot,  and  got  several  dozen  birds  from  each  one;  but 
now  the  negro  men  go  at  night  with  blazing  torches  into  the 
old  rice-fields,  which  are  densely  grown  up  in  water-grasses 
and  reeds,  the  birds  are  blinded  and  dazed  by  the  light,  and 
as  the  fat  little  bodies  sway  about  on  the  slender  growth 
upon  which  they  rest,  they  are  easily  caught,  their  necks 
wrung,  and  they  are  thrust  into  the  sack  which  each  man  has 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  37 

tied  in  front  of  him.  In  this  way  a  man  sometimes  gets  a 
bushel  by  the  time  the  reddening  dawn  brings  him  home, 
and  he  finds  waiting  for  him  on  the  shore  buyers  from  the 
nearest  town,  who  are  ready  to  pay  thirty  cents  a  dozen  for 
the  birds,  so  that  one  or  two  nights  of  this  sport  give  as  much 
as  a  month's  labor.  Of  course,  it  is  hard  to  come  out  to  cut 
rice  the  next  day,  so  probably  illness  is  pleaded  as  an  excuse 
for  his  absence  in  the  field. 

This  makes  it  more  and  more  difficult  to  get  the  rice 
harvested ;  no  one  but  one  of  African  descent  could  spend 
his  nights  in  the  rice-field,  where  the  air  is  heavy  with  the 
moist  malaria,  so  it  is  his  opportunity.  The  shooting  of 
rice-birds  has  almost  gone  out,  for  the  bird  minders  are  so 
careless.  They  shoot  into  the  rice  and  so  destroy  as  much  as 
the  birds,  almost ;  now  blank  cartridges  are  almost  entirely 
used  to  scare  the  birds.  Going  round  the  field  one  day  with 
Marcus,  I  said,  with  great  relief:  "I'm  so  glad  not  to  see  a 
single  bird  to-day."  He  laughed  and  said  :  "Miss,  wait  till 
de  bird  minders  shoot."  In  a  few  seconds  the  bird  minders 
became  aware  of  my  approach  and  up  and  fired  very  nearly 
at  the  same  time.  The  birds  rose  in  clouds  so  that  the  sun 
seemed  darkened  for  a  few  seconds,  and  the  noise  of  their 
wings  was  deafening.  It  seemed  tantalizing  not  to  be  able 
to  get  any  to  eat.  In  spite  of  the  tremendous  report  of  the 
firing,  it  did  no  execution,  for  the  old-fashioned  muskets 
which  are  used  have  an  enormous  load  of  very  coarse  powder, 
but  no  shot. 

Now,  my  flats  are  loaded,  and  I  must  start  on  my  twelve- 
mile  drive  to  the  pine-land.  As  soon  as  I  can  have  the  flats 
unloaded  I  must  send  them  back  for  the  hands  to  harvest 
their  rice.  I  do  not  pretend  to  overlook  this.  I  try  to  put 
them  on  their  mettle  to  do  the  best  possible.  Some  respond, 
but  the  majority  just  poke  along,  doing  as  little  as  possible 
each  day,  so  as  to  have  longer  time  to  strip  the  rice  from  the 


38  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

straw,  and  carry  it  home  in  bags,  so  that  when  it  comes 
to  mill,  there  is  not  enough  to  pay  their  rent.  They  know 
how  I  hate  to  take  all  they  bring,  I  so  like  for  them  to  have 
a  nice  little  pile  of  their  own  to  ship ;  it  is  very  hard  for 
me  to  believe  what  the  foreman  tells  me,  that  they  have 
been  eating  this  rice  for  three  weeks  past. 

October  16. 

I  have  threshed  the  May  rice,  and  it  has  turned  out  very 
well,  considering  the  hard  time  it  had  for  two  months  after 
it  was  planted.  My  wages  field  made  twenty-five  bushels 
to  the  acre  and  the  hands  nearly  the  same,  only  a  little  less, 
but  it  is  good  rice  and  weighs  forty-six  pounds  to  the  bushel ; 
and  as  I  hear  every  one  complaining  of  very  light  rice,  I  am 
thankful  it  is  so  good. 

October  17. 

I  have  had  an  offer  of  SI. 05  for  my  rice  in  the  rough,  and 
I  am  going  to  take  it,  though  I  shall  miss  the  cracked  rice 
and  the  flour  which  we  get  when  the  rice  is  milled,  and  the 
rice  will  have  to  be  bagged  and  sewed  up,  which  is  a  great 
deal  of  work ;  but  Mr.  S.  will  pay  for  it  at  my  mill,  and  that 
will  relieve  my  anxiety  about  money. 

October  18. 

A  hard  day's  work,  but  the  sale  has  been  most  satisfactory, 
for  as  the  standard  weight  per  bushel  for  rice  is  forty-five, 
and  my  rice  weighs  forty-six  or  forty-seven,  I  have  a  good 
many  more  dollars  than  I  had  bushels,  which  is  very  cheer- 
ing ;  and  I  have  had  grip  and  am  greatly  in  need  of  cheering. 
Mr.  S.  weighed  every  sack  and  put  down  the  weights  and 
then  added  up  the  interminable  lines  of  figures.  I  added 
them,  too,  but  was  thankful  I  did  not  have  the  responsibility, 
for  they  came  out  differently  each  time  I  went  over  them. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  39 

October  24. 

The  harvest  of  my  June  field  (wages)  began  to-day. 
Though  very  weak  and  miserable  from  grip,  I  drove  the 
twelve  miles  to  Casa  Bianca,  and  in  a  lovely  white  pique  suit 
went  down  on  the  bank.  I  timed  myself  to  get  there  about 
12  o'clock,  and  as  I  expected  I  met  a  procession  of  dusky 
young  men  and  maidens  coming  out  of  the  field.  I  greeted 
them  with  pleasant  words  and  compliments  on  their  nice 
appearance,  as  they  all  reserve  their  gayest,  prettiest  clothes 
for  harvest,  and  I  delight  to  see  them  in  gay  colors,  and  am 
careful  to  pay  them  the  compliment  of  putting  on  something 
pretty  myself,  which  they  greatly  appreciate.  After  "pass- 
ing the  time  of  day,"  as  they  call  the  ordinary  polite  greet- 
ings, I  asked  each  :  "How  much  have  you  cut  ?"  "A  quarter, 
Miss."  "Well,  turn  right  back  and  cut  another  quarter  — 
why,  surely,  Tom,  you  are  not  content  to  leave  the  field 
with  only  a  quarter  cut!  It  is  but  a  weakling  who  would 
do  that !"  And  so  on  till  I  have  turned  them  all  back  and 
so  saved  the  day. 

A  field  of  twenty-six  acres  is  hard  to  manage,  and  unless 
you  can  stir  their  pride  and  enthusiasm  they  may  take  a 
week  over  it.  One  tall,  slender  girl,  a  rich,  dark  brown,  and 
graceful  as  a  deer,  whose  name  is  Pallas,  when  I  ask,  "How 
much?"  answers,  "Three-quarters,  Ma'am,  an'  I'm  just 
goin'  to  get  my  break'us  an'  come  back  an'  cut  another 
quarter."  That  gives  me  something  to  praise,  which  is 
always  such  a  pleasure.  Then  two  more  young  girls  have 
each  cut  a  half  acre,  so  I  shame  the  men  and  urge  them  not 
to  let  themselves  be  outdone ;  and  in  a  little  while  things  are 
swimming.  I  break  down  some  of  the  tops  of  the  canes  and 
make  a  seat  on  the  bank,  and  as  from  time  to  time  they  come 
down  to  dip  their  tin  buckets  in  the  river  to  drink,  I  offer 
them  a  piece  of  candy  and  one  or  two  biscuits,  which  I  always 
carry  in  the  very  stout  leather  satchel  in  which  I  keep  my 
time-books,  etc. 


40 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


■:\':t.- 


s1 


1W) 


.•mi    yu\ y-  '-■  -  rm    -v  ■  :  rJ  ?Wi 
#1   &:oV;    ^    #    .■*■'■(    AH 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  41 

Though  the  sun  is  fiery,  I  feel  more  cheerful  than  I  have 
for  a  good  while.  The  field  of  rice  is  fine,  Marcus  says,  — 
"Miss,  I  put  my  flag  on  dat  fiel',"  —  and  insists  it  will  make 
over  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  don't  throw  cold  water  on 
his  enthusiasm,  but  I  know  it  will  not.  However,  the  rice 
is  tall,  and  the  golden  heads  are  long  and  thick.  I  count  a 
few  heads  and  find  200  grains  on  one  or  two,  and  am  almost 
carried  away  with  Marcus's  hope,  but  will  not  allow  myself 
to  think  how  much  it  will  make.  One  year  this  field  put  in 
the  bank  $1080,  but  I  know  it  will  not  do  that  this  year. 
There  is  no  use  to  think  of  it. 

I  stayed  on  the  bank  until  sunset  to  encourage  the  slow 
workers  to  finish  their  task.  All  the  work  in  this  section  is 
based  on  what  was  the  "task"  in  slavery  times.  That  it  was 
very  moderate  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  smart,  brisk 
workers  can  do  two  or  three  "tasks"  in  a  day,  but  the  lazy 
ones  can  never  be  persuaded  to  do  more  than  one  task, 
though  they  may  finish  it  by  11  o'clock.  I  feel  placid  to- 
night, for  half  the  field  is  cut  down  and  will  dry  on  the  stubble 
all  day  to-morrow. 

October  26. 

Drove  down  to  Casa  Bianca  as  early  as  I  could  and  found 
the  hands  cutting  merrily.  As  soon  as  each  one  had  cut  a 
half  acre  they  turned  in  and  tied  that  cut  on  Saturday  and 
stacked  it  in  small  cocks. 

Again  I  am  cheered  and  rested  by  the  beauty  around  me. 
The  sun  is  gorgeous,  though  the  autumn  haze  is  all  over  the 
wide  expanse  of  level  fields  with  every  hue  of  green  and  gold. 
I  get  in  the  small  patches  of  shade  made  by  the  tall  canes 
and  feast  my  eyes  and  thank  the  Great  Artist  who  has  made 
it  all  so  beautiful. 

The  three  flats  are  in  position  for  loading  to-morrow,  the 
wind  is  still  west,  and  so  I  hope  the  fair  weather  may  last. 
My  supply  of  candy  and  biscuits  is  much  appreciated.     I 


42 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


make  my  own  lunch  on  the  biscuits  and  a  bottle  of  artesian 
water,  which  I  always  take  with  me.  I  would  as  soon  think 
of  eating  snake's  eggs  as  of  drinking  the  river  water,  so  full 
is  it  of  animal  life,  I  am  sure.  I  know  how  it  would  look 
under  a  powerful  microscope. 

October  31. 

Spent  yesterday  in  the  mill  threshing  out  my  rice,  most 
trying  to  me  of  all  the  work,  the  dust  is  so  terrible ;  but  the 
mill  worked  well,  and  so  did  the  hands  —  and  better  than  all, 
the  rice  turned  out  well,  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  and 

good,  heavy  rice.  So  I 
felt  rewarded  for  the  dust 
and  other  trials.  I  was 
so  determined  to  prevent 
stealing  that  I  engaged 
the  sheriff's  constable  to 
watch  on  the  nights  that 
the  rice  was  stacked  in  the 
barnyard  ;  and  now  that 
expense  is  over,  and  the 
pile  is  safe  in  the  second 
story  of  the  shipping  barn. 
Next  I  have  to  thresh 
out  the  people's  rice  from 
Casa  Bianca,  which  will 
be  up  in  a  day  or  two ;  then  I  will  have  a  little  time  to 
have  the  upland  crops  seen  after  before  the  rice  here,  at 
Cherokee,  which  was  planted  very  late,  will  be  ready  to  cut. 

Cherokee,  November  4. 

Yesterday  I  had  my  wages  field  of  rice  here  cut.  It  is 
only  eleven  acres  of  very  poor  rice,  which  has  cost  a  good 
deal  of  money,  owing  to  the  freshets.  The  only  thing  to  be 
done  now  was  to  get  it  in  with  as  little  expense  as  possible, 


-—^23*''-  *~7»S'  •-' 


Front  porch  —  Casa  Bianea. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  43 

so  I  announced  yesterday  that  it  must  be  in  the  barnyard 
to-night.  Bonaparte  looked  wise,  smiled  in  a  superior  way, 
and  said  that  was  impossible  —  that  perhaps  by  Tuesday  it 
could  be  got  in.  I  didn't  dispute  his  wisdom  or  argue  with 
him.  I  simply  went  into  the  field  with  the  hands  in  the 
morning,  yesterday,  and  stayed  until  it  was  all  cut  down. 
I  told  Bonaparte  to  put  a  watchman  in  the  field,  and  left 
the  choice  to  him.  He  said  he  would  put  Elihu ;  so  I  rested 
content  until  about  10  o'clock,  when  I  began  to  get  anxious 
about  it.  The  best  planter  in  my  neighborhood  had  told  me 
he  had  never  known  the  stealing  of  rice  so  bad  from  the  field. 
He  attributed  it  to  there  being  so  little  planted  as  high  up 
the  river  on  account  of  the  freshet,  so  that  rice  is  very 
scarce.  This  rice  had  not  been  good  enough  to  warrant  the 
expense  of  the  constable,  but  I  did  not  wish  to  lose  the  little 
that  was  there,  so  I  determined  to  go  over  and  see  for  myself. 
I  called  a  negro  boy  of  about  sixteen  years  whom  I  had 
recently  taken  into  my  service,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  afraid 
to  row  me  over  to  the  field.  He  hesitated  and  I  went  on  : 
"I  want  to  take  some  lightwood  and  a  blanket  over  to  Elihu, 
who  is  watching,  for  the  night  is  very  cold."  At  once  he  said 
he  was  not  afraid  at  all,  as  the  moon  was  bright.  When 
I  ran  up  to  my  room  to  get  my  wraps  and  my  good  Chloe 
found  I  was  going,  she  said  :  "Miss  Patience,  le'  me  go  wid 
you;  I  know  well  how  fo'  paddle  boat,  en  yo  ain't  long  git 
dat  boy,  en  yu  dun  know  ef  'e  kin  manige  boat  at  night." 
~~£)f  course  I  was  delighted  to  take  Chloe ;  I  sent  Jake  for 
lightwood,  she  took  the  blanket  and  I  the  matches.  The 
getting  in  the  boat  was  the  darkest  part,  but  once  out  on  the 
river  it  was  perfectly  lovely  —  such  a  glorious  night,  the  air 
so  crisp  and  exhilarating.  As  we  neared  the  field  Chloe 
entreated  me  to  be  careful  when  I  got  out  on  the  bank,  for 
Elihu  might  take  us  for  thieves  and  shoot ;  but  I  went  very 
fearlessly,  for  I  had  a  conviction  that  there  was  no  Elihu 
there,  and  so  it  proved. 


44  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

I  told  Jake  to  kindle  a  large  fire  in  a  sheltered  corner  of  the 
bank,  while  Chloe  and  I  walked  all  the  way  round  the  field. 
I  can't  describe  the  weird  peace  of  the  scene ;  and  to  make  it 
more  ghostlike  Chloe  insisted  on  speaking  in  a  low  whisper, 
as  becoming  the  time  and  place,  and  reminding  me  that  people 
from  the  next  place  might  be  hiding  all  around.  No  sign  of 
any  marauder,  however,  appeared,  and  I  knew  the  fire  on  the 
bank  would  give  the  impression  that  I  had  installed  my 
friend  the  constable,  so  I  went  back  to  the  house  entirely 
satisfied  with  the  expedition.  I  charged  Jake  to  say  nothing 
on  the  subject  to  any  one.  Why  will  one  try  to  exact  the 
impossible  ?  I  lost  my  man,  who  has  been  with  me  fifteen 
years,  this  fall,  and  Jake  is  the  substitute  for  the  present^ 

To-day  I  stayed  in  the  field  again  all  day  and  succeeded 
in  getting  the  rice  tied  and  put  in  the  flat  by  sunset.  Then 
I  said  the  flat  must  be  taken  up  to  the  barn,  but  Bonaparte 
said  that  could  not  be  done  because  there  was  "'gen  tide." 
Of  course  all  the  men  echoed  that  it  was  impossible,  but  I. 
laughed  at  the  idea,  and  climbing  to  the  top  of  the  rice,  I  sat 
there  and  told  two  of  the  young  men  to  take  the  poles  and 
push  the  flat  out  into  the  river  —  having  privately  asked 
old  Ancrum  who  had  stowed  the  flat  if  it  was  true  that  a 
flat  could  not  go  against  the  tide,  and  having  heard  from  him 
that  it  was  nonsense.  The  men  pushed  the  flat  out  and 
poled  it  up  the  river  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  before  dark 
it  was  safely  staked  under  the  flat  house,  so  that  my  mind 
will  be  at  rest  about  it  to-morrow. 

November  6. 

Threshed  out  the  rice  to-day.  It  made  only  twenty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  and  I  hear  rice  has  gone  down  very  much. 
The  hands  now  are  whipping  out  the  seed  rice,  which  is  a 
tedious  business,  but  no  planter  in  this  county  will  use  mill- 
threshed  rice  for  seed.  Mr.  S.,  who  bought  my  rice  and  who 
travels  all  over  the  South  buying  rice  for  a  mill  in  North 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  45 

Carolina,  told  me  that  everywhere  else  mill-threshed  rice 
was  used,  simply  putting  a  little  more  to  the  acre.  Here  it 
is  thought  the  mill  breaks  the  rice  too  much,  so  the  seed  rice 
is  prepared  by  each  hand  taking  a  single  sheaf  at  a  time  and 
whipping  it  over  a  log,  or  a  smooth  board  set  up,  until  all  the 
rice  comes  off.  Then  the  sheaves  are  laid  on  a  clay  floor 
and  beaten  with  flails,  until  nearly  every  grain  has  left  the 
straw.  After  all  this  trouble  of  course  it  brings  a  good 
price  —  SI. 75,  $1.50  per  bushel,  $1.25  being  the  very  cheapest 
to  be  had. 

November  7. 

The  time  for  paying  the  taxes  will  soon  be  passed,  and  all 
the  negroes  on  the  place  have  asked  me  to  pay  their  taxes  in 
addition  to  my  own,  so  that  I  must  sell  some  rice.  Took 
samples  to  our  county  town  ;  I  was  told  they  were  very  good 
rice,  but  no  one  wished  to  buy.  I  was  offered,  however, 
82|  cents  a  bushel  for  one  and  85  cents  for  the  other  !  I  sold 
the  smaller  lot  for  82|  and  determined  to  hold  the  larger  part, 
for  I  feel  confident  rice  must  go  up  by  February,  and  I  do  so 
want  to  get  $1  a  bushel  for  it,  for  then  I  will  pay  out,  but 
otherwise  not,  after  all  my  work. 

November  12. 

Peaceville  has  been  wrought  up  to  a  state  of  wild  excite- 
ment. On  Sunday  afternoon,  when  I  was  expecting  my  little 
class,  only  Kitty  and  the  Philosopher  and  Squeaky  came,  and 
before  I  could  ask  where  the  others  were  they  burst  out :  — 

"All  the  others  have  gone  to  hear  the  lion  roar,  and  to  see 
if  they  could  get  a  peep  at  him." 

"A  lion?     Here?"     My  tone  was  suitable  to  the  subject. 

"Yes,  ma'am;  they  put  up  three  big  tents  while  we  were 
in  church  this  morning,  right  in  front  of  the  post-office." 

I  praised  them  for  coming  under  such  heavy  temptations, 
but  they  exclaimed  in  chorus :  "We  didn't  want  to  come  — 
mamma  made  us;    we  wanted  to  hear  the  lion  roar,  too." 


46  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

At  which  I  was  more  pleased  than  ever,  and  was  as  rapid  as 
possible  with  the  lessons  and  told  no  story,  though  I  thought 
Daniel  in  the  lions'  den  might  suit  the  occasion ;  but  I  soon 
saw  that  they  could  listen  to  nothing  under  such  phenomenal 
circumstances.  A  very  feeble  Punch  and  Judy  is  the  greatest 
show  seen  here  before. 

We  sang  the  hymns,  I  gave  each  one  an  apple,  and  said 
I  would  walk  down  with  them  to  the  tents.  A  most  delight- 
ful progress  we  made,  every  one  having  turned  out  to  see  the 
unwonted  sight. 

Before  we  got  to  my  gate  the  King  of  the  Forest  began  to 
roar  tremendously  and  kept  it  up,  to  the  awe  and  delight  of 
the  humans  and  the  dismay  of  the  animals.  Cows  refused 
to  come  up  to  be  milked,  but  fled  to  the  swamp,  and  horses 
cowered  in  their  stalls. 

Every  one,  even  the  most  sedate,  had  turned  out  to  look 
at  the  tents.  I  went  with  the  children  until  I  saw  their 
parents  and  then  returned  to  my  piazza. 

Tuesday. 

Yesterday  was  the  grand  day.  There  were  two  exhibi- 
tions, one  at  1  o'clock  and  at  8  p.m.  The  two  stores  were 
shut  for  the  day,  and  business  suspended  while  the  village 
gave  itself  up  to  dissipation. 

I  had  to  go  to  the  plantation,  having  an  appointment  with 
a  carpenter  for  an  important  bit  of  work.  It  was  difficult 
to  get  Ruth  past  the  tents.  I  took  the  plan  of  stopping  to 
talk  to  every  one  I  met  as  I  approached  the  green  in  front  of 
the  post-office,  which  was  so  changed  since  Saturday,  when 
she  saw  it  last. 

Most  fortunately  the  lion  did  not  roar  at  that  time,  and 
we  got  by  without  accident.  Though  I  have  seen  a  great 
many  fine  wild  beasts,  the  excitement  in  the  air  gained  me, 
and  I  was  anxious  for  Chloe  to  choose  the  morning  perfor- 
mance as  I  had  to  be  away  then ;  but  Chloe,  when  I  told  her 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  47 

she  could  go  morning  or  evening,  whichever  she  preferred, 
said  she  would  go  at  night,  as  she  heard  that  would  be  the 
grandest.  So  I  could  not  go,  for  she  would  never  have 
consented  to  leave  the  house  and  yard  unguarded. 

I  did  not  see  the  show,  but  I  certainly  have  enjoyed  the 
accounts  of  it  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Shelby  show  might  be  called  a  high-class  moral  entertain- 
ment. The  most  particular  and  sedate,  not  to  say  prudish, 
were  not  shocked,  and  the  acrobatic  feats  amazed  every  one. 

Peaceville  was  a  great  surprise  to  them  also ;  they  asked 
for  a  hotel  or  boarding-house  ;  there  was  none.  They  wanted 
to  board  somewhere,  but  no  one  took  boarders.  The  acro- 
batic star,  who,  as  Chloe  described  her,  hung  from  the  top 
of  the  tent,  dressed  in  "pink  titers,"  by  one  foot,  holding 
up  her  fifteen-year-old  daughter,  also  beautiful  in  pink  tights, 
by  the  foot,  said  she  did  not  wish  to  stay  in  a  tent ;  she 
never  did ;  she  wanted  to  be  in  a  house,  and  finally  some 
ladies  who  lived  near  the  place  where  the  tents  were  pitched 
said  they  had  an  empty  house  in  their  yard  which  they 
would  fix  for  her,  and  it  being  Sunday  afternoon  and  no 
servants  were  to  be  found,  the  ladies  themselves  put  beds  in 
the  house  and  made  it  comfortable  for  the  acrobat  ladies, 
and  when  these  offered  to  pay,  were  quite  shocked  and  sur- 
prised and  said  there  was  no  charge ;  they  were  glad  to  have 
been  able  to  make  them  comfortable. 

Chloe  and  Dab  have  both  given  me  thrilling  accounts  of 
the  lady  dressed  in  pure  silver,  a  very  stout  lady  who  took 
the  head  of  a  snake,  bigger  round  than  Dab's  body,  and 
stroked  it  and  laid  it  on  her  breast:  "Her  color  was  quite 
change  while  she  did  it,  en  the  snake  lick  out  'e  tongue  en 
you  could  see  the  lady  trimble  an'  it  was  byutiful." 

Altogether  for  many  days  joy  will  reign  in  the  memory  of 
these  delights.  It  was  conducted  with  great  dignity,  and 
there  was  no  confusion  or  trouble,  which  seems  wonderful, 


48  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

for  there  were  great  crowds  of  darkies  coming  from  miles 
around  and  only  about  thirty  white  people  all  together.  Yet 
they  had  the  seats  arranged  on  different  sides,  so  that  all 
were  satisfied.  The  lion  was  given  part  of  a  kid  before  the 
spectators,  and  then  he  stopped  roaring. 

November  18. 

Green  has  returned  to  work ;  that  is,  he  milked  this  morning 
and  hauled  one  load  of  manure  to  the  field.  His  cousin, 
Wishy,  got  his  kinfolk  to  buy  off  the  negro  who  was  prosecut- 
ing him  for  killing  his  cow,  and  the  case  was  dropped. 

Long  ago,  when  I  kept  Wishy  from  bleeding  to  death 
by  patching  up  his  head,  I  fear  I  did  not  benefit  the  world. 

I  find  Elihu  has  gone  !  Moved  bag  and  baggage  to  my 
neighbor's,  where  he  will  have  unlimited  credit.  He  owes 
me  $10,  which  he  promised  faithfully  to  pay,  and  Jean  and 
Kitty  have  walked  off  in  my  boots  beyond  the  reach  of  my 
small  efforts  to  improve  them. 

I  feel  quite  sad  about  it  —  my  heart  has  always  been  tender 
to  Elihu ;  I  have  had  to  help  him  so  often.  The  last  time  he 
went  off  to  make  "big  money,"  as  they  call  it,  on  some  timber 
work  he  came  back  very  ill,  and  for  a  month  I  took  him  nour- 
ishment and  medicine  daily,  in  spite  of  which  his  wife  and 
children  lived  in  my  potato  patch.  He  was  very  weak,  and 
one  day  he  broke  out:  "Miss,  if  I  ever  lef  you  'gen  and 
gone  off  for  work  any  ways  else,  you  sen'  for  the  sheriff  en 
tie  me.  You  ben  good  to  me  en  ten'  me,  en  den  de  debil 
mek  me  lef  yu  fer  mek'  big  money  !  en  now  look  a'  me  !  Yu 
ten'  me  en  yu  feed  me  des  de  same." 

He  is  an  uncommonly  rich  shade  of  black,  so  that  his 
own  mother  always  referred  to  him  as  "dat  black  nigger." 
Under  constant  and  proper  supervision  he  can  be  very  useful, 
but  he  cannot  make  himself  work  every  day.  He  must  have 
a  compelling  hand  and  head  behind  him. 

He  has  ten  living  children  and  a  smart  active  young  woman 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  49 

for  his  second  wife.  When  we  were  planting  largely  of  rice, 
he  made  a  fine  living,  as  he  rented  sixteen  acres  —  he  did  the 
ploughing  and  his  family  the  rest  of  the  work.  He  had  a 
splendid  yoke  of  oxen,  which  he  bought  from  us,  and  cows 
and  another  fine  steer  he  had  raised. 

The  changes  in  the  conditions  in  the  last  few  years  I  do 
not  understand,  but  since  McKinley's  death  steadily  the 
negroes  have  declined  in  their  responsibility  and  willingness 
to  work  until  now  their  energies  are  spent  in  seeing  how  little 
they  can  do  and  still  appear  to  work  so  as  to  secure  a  day's 
pay. 

Elihu  used  to  be  a  splendid  ploughman,  but  this  spring  I 
had  him  to  plough  ten  acres  for  me,  breaking  it  up  flush. 
The  earth  was  barely  scratched,  I  found  afterward,  though 
I  paid  him  by  the  day  instead  of  by  the  acre,  fearing  he 
would  be  tempted  to  hurry  over  it  if  I  paid  by  the  acre. 

Forage  was  very  scarce,  and  as  long  as  he  ploughed  for  me 
I  told  him  to  give  his  oxen  all  they  could  eat  from  the  hay 
under  the  barn  which  was  blown  down.  The  two-story 
barn  was  packed  full  of  hay,  some  of  my  best  alfalfa,  when  the 
storm  struck  it.  Of  course  it  took  some  labor  to  get  the  hay 
out,  and  poor  Elihu,  after  the  mighty  effort  of  ploughing 
one-half  acre  a  day,  could  not  make  himself  get  out  more 
than  just  enough  to  keep  the  oxen  alive. 

I  had  urged  him  from  the  beginning  of  the  winter  to  make 
his  children  gather  daily  a  certain  quantity  of  the  gray  moss 
with  which  the  oaks  are  laden  and  which  cattle  eat  greedily ; 
that  would  have  kept  his  cows  and  oxen  in  good  condition, 
but  he  never  did  it. 

I  had  two  large  sacks  gathered  every  day  for  my  cattle ; 
his  went  hungry.  One  by  one  the  cows  and  young  calves 
died,  not  being  accustomed  to  range  like  the  woods  cattle. 

Some  time  after  he  finished  ploughing  for  me  he  drove  his 
son  up  to  see  a  doctor  fifteen  miles  from  here  in  a  very  bitter 


50  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

spell  of  weather  —  drove  the  creatures  up  without  feed,  and 
after  consulting  the  doctor  turned  right  back.  One  ox  dropped 
and  died  two  miles  from  home,  the  other  managed  to  get  back, 
but  lay  down  about  100  yards  from  my  front  gate,  under  the 
trees  laden  with  food  which  would  have  saved  its  life,  if  given 
in  time.  I  used  to  take  the  lantern  and  go  out  at  night 
to  carry  food  to  it,  knowing  that  if  Elihu  saw  me  feeding 
it  he  would  cease  giving  the  little  care  which  he  expended 
on  it. 

It  struggled  on  a  week  and  then  died.  One  month  before 
he  had  been  offered  $60  for  the  yoke. 

At  last  he  had  not  an  animal  left.  Then  he  came  to  me  and 
said  he  would  like  to  take  service  with  my  neighbor  by  the 
month  as  ploughman,  as  he  would  no  longer  give  him  work 
unless  he  hired  to  him  by  the  month.  I  was  very  sorry,  for 
I  let  him  work  there  all  the  time  when  I  had  no  work  for  him. 
He  is  a  splendid  boatman,  and  I  always  called  on  him  to 
row  me  across  the  river  and  did  not  mind  wind  or  waves  with 
Elihu  at  the  oars. 

However,  I  told  him  he  could  do  so  if  he  paid  $1  a  month 
for  his  house  —  now  he  has  gone,  owing  me  for  eight  months 
rent  besides  his  tax.  Several  years  ago  he  was  double  taxed, 
having  neglected  to  pay  at  the  right  time,  and  since  then  I 
have  always  paid  his  tax  when  I  paid  my  own. 

He  owns  some  land  with  timber.  When  I  went  to  pay  the 
tax,  I  saw  two  buildings  and  twenty-five  acres  and  the  tax 
was  $4.     I  saw  Elihu,  I  showed  him  the  paper,  and  asked  :  — 

"Have  you  any  buildings  on  the  land  ?" 

"No,  miss,  I  ent  build  no  house,  I  ruther  stay  here,  en  if 
I  sick  you  ten'  me." 

"But,  Elihu,  the  tax  paper  calls  for  two  houses." 

"Well,  miss,  ent  you  know,  look  like  I  ought  to  had  house 
by  now  !" 

"But  if  you  have  none,  you  should  not  pay  tax  on  one. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


51 


Now  when  February  comes,  which  is  the  month  to  make 
returns,  I  will  make  your  return  without  the  house." 

"Well,  miss,  if  you  tink  so,  but  I  hate  fer  tek  off  de  house." 

I  deprived  him  of  his  air  castle,  but  the  tax  was  reduced 

to  $2.70,  I  believe  —  I  must  look  over  the  tax  receipts  to  see. 

I  always  pay  Bonaparte's  and  some  others,  I  am  so  afraid 

of  their  putting  off  until  they  are  double  taxed.     I  do  not 

see  how  I  am  to 

pay    my    own 

taxes      this 

year;  they 

are  nearly  $200, 


Eliliu  was  a  splendid  boatman. 


'AlUt.li.-H  S" 


and  there  is  nothing  coming  in.  I  have  many,  many  valu- 
able things  which  I  would  like  to  sell,  but  I  have  no  gift  that 
way. 

After  many  struggles  I  made  up  my  mind  to  accept  an  offer 
for  my  castle  in  the  air,  a  mountain  top  in  the  Sapphire 
region  of  North  Carolina,  but  the  purchaser  withdrew ;  it  is 
so  with  everything  —  no  one  wants  to  buy  anything  If  our 
valiant,  voracious,  and  vivacious  King  Stork  would  only  desist 
from  his  activities  while  a  few  small  creatures  were  left  it 


52  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

would  be  a  mercy ;  but  I  fear  when  he  gets  through,  there  will 
be  none  but  sharks,  devil-fish,  and  swordfish  left. 

November  20,  Saturday. 

When  Green  came  this  morning,  I  told  him  I  wanted  Bon- 
aparte to  sow  the  oats  on  the  land  he  has  been  ploughing 
this  week,  and  he  must  harrow  it  in  to-day,  as  the  season  is 
already  late.  He  seemed  shocked  and  said  the  land  was  quite 
too  rough  for  him  to  get  through  harrowing  the  acre  and  a 
half  to-day. 

I  in  turn  was  shocked  and  told  him  that  was  absurd  and 
that  it  must  be  done ;  that  I  was  distressed  to  hear  he  had 
ploughed  it  so  badly  as  what  he  said  would  indicate ;  that  I 
would  have  Dab  take  Romola  and  run  the  cultivator  while 
he  ran  the  harrow,  so  as  to  have  the  oats  thoroughly  covered. 
I  told  Dab  to  get  the  horse  at  once  and  take  the  cultivator  to 
the  field. 

I  did  a  thousand  things  before  following  him.  I  found  him 
in  the  slough  of  despond  and  I  had  to  fix  the  harness,  etc.,  for 
him,  and  then  we  proceeded  to  the  field.  I  found  Dab  had 
not  the  faintest  idea  of  how  to  guide  the  horse  and  manage  the 
cultivator,  so  I  told  him  until  he  got  accustomed  to  it  I 
would  lead  Romola,  so  that  he  could  devote  all  his  attention 
to  the  cultivator. 

The  ground  was  rough  to  distraction,  and  with  every 
polite  intention  Romola  could  not  help  every  now  and  then 
walking  up  my  skirt,  short  as  it  was,  and  I  was  nearly  dragged 
down  upon  the  ground,  but  I  could  not  bear  to  give  up, 
though  I  was  utterly  exhausted,  for  the  cultivator  was  doing 
good  work. 

We  had  just  got  through  half  an  acre  and  I  was  wondering 
how  I  could  retreat  with  my  laurels,  when  Patty  came  at  a 
full  run  to  say  the  "lady  had  come."  Never  was  an  arrival 
more  welcome.     I  told  Dab  he  must  take  Romola  back  to  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


53 


stable  and  make  himself  presentable  and  bring  in  dinner  as 
soon  as  possible. 

Made  my  way  to  the  house  as  quickly  as  I  could,  but  I  was 
so  tired  that  my  feet  were  like  lead.     S —  was  very  much 
surprised  to  find  what  I  had  been  doing  and 
proceeded  to  argue  with  me,  but  I  only 
made  fun  of   her   arguments,   and    we       .%■-, 
had  a  very  gay  dinner. 

My  little  brown  maid  Patty  is  a     <?~V|| 
new  acquisition  and  a  great  comfort,  3^ 

for    she    is    very    bright    and    in- 
telligent and  not  too  dignified 
to  run,  which  is  a  great  blessing. 


Cherokee,  Sunday,  November  22. 

Drove  S —  to  church  in  our  little 
pine-land  village ;  she  seemed  to  enjoy     '■"' 
the  very  simple  service.     Then  I  took 
her  over  to  my  summer-house  which      % 
is  just  across  the  road  from  the  church,     t '. 
She  was  amused  at  the  roughness  and 
plainness  of  the  pine-land  house  as  com- 
pared to  the  winter  quarters.     Drove  her 
then  in  to  Hasty  Point,  which  is  named 
from  Marion's    hasty  escape    in    a   small 
boat  from  the  British  officers  during  the 
Revolution,  and  is  a  very  beautiful  point, 
overlooking   the   bold    Thoroughfare   and 
Peeclee  River ;  then  home  to  a  dinner  of  English  ducks.     I 
am  very  stiff  from  my  agricultural  efforts. 

November  24. 

Yesterday  just  as  I  was  getting  into  the  buckboard  to  drive 
S —  down  to  Gregory  to  take  the  train  Jim  arrived.  He  has 
come  to  begin  the  colts'  education  and  can  only  stay  a  month, 


My  little  brown 
maid  Patty  is 
a  new  acquisition 
and  a  great  com- 
fort, for  she  is 
very  bright. 


54 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


as  his  employer  in  Gregory  gave  him  a  month's  holiday.  I 
am  so  glad  to  have  him  —  told  him  to  get  all  the  harness 
together  and  mend  things  up  and  see  if  he  could  contrive  a 
harness  fit  to  put  on  Marietta  to  break  her  in  the  road  cart. 
S —  was  so  anxious  to  see  Casa  Bianca  that  I  thought  we 
could  drive  in  there  on  our  way  to  Gregory,  eat  our  lunch 
there,  and  still  get  down  in  time  for  the  train,  but  we  failed 
to  do  it.  She  was  so  delighted  with  the  place  and  wanted 
to  see  everything  in  the  rambling  old  house,  even  the  garret 
with  its  ghostly  old  oil  portrait  of  a  whole  family  in  a  row  and 
a  broken  bust  of  another  member,  that  we  delayed  too  long. 
Besides,  the  train  left  at  4  :  10  instead  of  4  :45,  as  it  has  been 
doing  for  some  years.  I  had  to  leave  S —  to  spend  the  night 
at  the  hotel,  which  I  hated  to  do,  but  she  said  she  must  get 


■MM 


The  roughness  and  plainness  of  the  pine-land  house. 

off  on  the  6  a.m.  train,  and  I  was  equally  obliged  to  come 
home,  so  we  parted  with  mutual  regret. 

It  was  late  for  my  long,  lonely  drive.     By  the  time  I  got 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  55 

to  the  ferry  it  was  dark,  and  I  wondered  how  I  was  to  manage. 
I  asked  the  two  old  men  to  lend  me  their  lantern,  but  they 
said  they  could  not  spare  it.  However,  about  half  a  mile 
farther  on  I  stopped  at  a  cottage  and  asked  for  the  loan  of  a 
lantern,  and  the  owner,  a  darky,  brought  out  a  bright,  well- 
trimmed  lantern  and  with  true  courtesy  assured  me  he  was 
happy  to  lend  it,  and  I  made  the  drive  without  accident, 
truly  thankful  to  get  into  my  dear  home,  with  its  bright  fire 
of  live-oak  logs,  at  8  :  30  out  of  the  cold  and  darkness. 

December  8. 

To-day  Richard  Dinny  came  to  say  he  would  undertake  to 
mend  the  break  in  the  rice-field  bank.  As  it  is  about  two 
miles  round  there  in  a  boat,  I  had  him  paddle  me  through  the 
canal  to  Long  field  trunk,  and  I  walked  from  there  on  the 
banks.  I  hurried  along  because  the  time  was  short  before 
hour  for  luncheon.  I  had  had  the  bank  hoed  just  in  the 
middle,  so  that  a  sportsman  could  go  through  unseen  by  the 
ducks  in  the  field.  Sometimes  it  was  hard  for  me  to  get 
through  with  my  skirt,  but  the  man  found  it  hard  to  keep  up 
with  me.  The  break  looked  very  alarming,  the  water  rush- 
ing over,  and  every  tide  that  goes  over  will  double  the  work. 

Coming  back,  my  hair  caught  in  a  brier  and  I  found  it 
impossible  to  disentangle  it.  I  had  taken  off  my  big  hat 
early  in  the  engagement  and  left  it  on  the  bank  near  the  boat. 
After  trying  desperately  to  get  free  from  the  brier  I  asked 
Richard,  who  was  just  behind,  if  he  had  a  knife.     He  said  yes. 

"Then  cut  this  bramble,"  I  said,  holding  well  up  above  my 
head  the  brier,  which  was  completely  wrapped  in  my  hair. 

He  got  out  his  knife  and  took  a  long  time  about  it,  sawing 
and  sawing,  but  finally  I  was  released.  As  soon  as  I  got  home 
I  rushed  upstairs  to  fix  my  hair  for  luncheon,  for  it  is  curly  and 
was  every  which  way  over  my  head.  As  I  took  it  down  a 
lock  as  thick  as  my  finger  came  off  in  my  hand.     Richard 


56  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

had  taken  so  long  because  he  was  sawing  off  my  hair  instead 
of  the  bramble. 

December  9. 

Yesterday's  work  at  the  break  was  too  much  for  Richard. 
This  morning  he  sent  word  he  was  called  off  by  important 
business,  so  could  not  come. 

December  11. 

We  are  having  the  most  delightful  springlike  weather.  It 
is  a  joy  to  wake  up  morning  after  morning  and  find  the  same 
balmy,  mild  air.  The  effort  to  keep  the  house  warm  in  the 
cold  weather  got  on  my  nerves  very  much,  and  now  I  am  relax- 
ing and  expanding  to  my  own  natural  condition,  which  is 
rather  optimistic  —  one  of  peace  and  good-will  to  the  world 
in  general,  with  a  firm  faith  that  things  must  come  right  in  the 
end,  however  difficult  and  crisscross  they  may  seem. 

Went  to  Casa  Bianca  to-day.  The  place  is  too  lovely 
for  words.  How  any  one  who  has  the  money  and  wants  a 
winter  home  can  hesitate  to  give  $10,000  for  it  I  do  not  see. 
When  it  is  sold,  it  will  break  my  heart,  but  either  this  place  or 
that  must  go.  This  place  (Cherokee)  has  nearly  900  acres, 
and  the  house  is  in  perfect  order.  Besides,  it  has  an  ever- 
flowing  artesian  well  460  feet  deep  which  throws  water  above 
the  roof  when  a  smaller  pipe  is  put  on,  —  a  reducer,  the  man 
who  bored  the  well  called  it.  There  is  a  grove  of  live  oak  of 
about  50  acres. 

I  often  wonder  that  it  should  have  fallen  to  my  lot  to  have 
two  such  beautiful  homes.  Altogether  if  I  only  had  a  small 
certain  income,  I  would  not  envy  the  King  on  his  throne. 

December  12. 

All  the  sashes  up  this  lovely  April  morning.  I  have  a  man 
called  Jimmie  trimming  up  a  little.  The  vista  my  dear 
mother  had  cut  out  years  ago  had  grown  up,  and  it  is  a  great 
pleasure  to  have  it  open  once  more.     From  the  front  piazza 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  57 

it  opens  a  view  down  the  river,  a  beautiful  bend,  the  shining, 
glimmering  water  framed  by  the  dark  oak  branches. 

Finally  I  have  put  Joe,  Ruben,  and  George  to  work  on  the 
break.  After  lunch  went  over  in  the  boat  to  see  their  work ; 
they  had  a  fine  supply  of  mud  cut,  some  on  the  bank  and  some 
in  the  flat.  Sent  Bonaparte  to  take  over  some  long  plank 
for  them  to  use  inside  of  puncheons  to  hold  the  soft  mud. 

December  13. 

Joe,  George,  and  Ruben  working  on  break.  They  had  to 
be  there  at  daybreak  to  catch  the  low  tide.  This  afternoon 
I  went  over  in  boat  to  look  at  the  work,  and  to  my  delight  it 
is  really  done,  and  I  believe  will  last,  only  every  day  at  low 
water  they  must  put  on  a  little  fresh  mud  to  raise  it  as  it 
settles. 

Oh,  this  heavenly  Indian  summer  !  It  is  too  delightful  for 
words  ! 

Bonaparte  had  Frankie  and  Green  helping  him  to  clean 
the  chimneys.     It  is  a  troublesome  business. 

Bonaparte  goes  up  on  a  ladder  to  the  top  of  the  house.  It 
always  frightens  me  to  see  him,  for  he  is  an  old  man,  but  he 
minds  it  less  than  the  younger  ones.  He  ties  a  stout  cedar 
bough  to  a  long  rope  about  midway  in  the  rope,  then  drops 
it  down  the  chimney  the  three  stories  to  the  first  floor; 
there  Frankie  catches  the  rope  and  between  them  they  pull 
it  backward  and  forward  until  the  chimney  is  clean  and  the 
hearth  is  filled  with  soot. 

Once  I  tried  getting -a  chimney-sweep,  but  he  wept  and 
pleaded  so  not  to  go  up  the  chimneys  again,  saying  he  would 
suffocate,  they  were  so  long,  that  I  returned  to  the  old  and 
primitive  way  and  will  never  try  the  sweep  again.  After 
this  one  sweeping  we  keep  the  chimneys  clean  by  burning 
them,  when  there  is  a  pouring  rain,  about  once  a  month. 

I  have  always  broken  my  colts  myself ;   no  one  but  myself 


58  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

either  rode  or  drove  Ruth  until  she  was  thoroughly  broken. 
Of  course  Jim's  stable  discipline  was  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, and  he  always  went  along,  but  he  never  touched  the 
reins.     I  did  the  driving. 

This  year,  however,  I  had  not  the  spirit  to  cope  with  them 
and  have  determined  to  leave  it  entirely  to  him.  He  is  now 
patching  up  a  harness  so  as  to  drive  Marietta  in  the  road 
cart. 

NOTE 

It  may  be  wise  to  explain  a  peculiarity  of  our  low-country  rice 
region.  From  the  last  week  in  May  until  the  first  week  in  November 
it  was  considered  deadly  for  an  Anglo-Saxon  to  breathe  the  night 
air  on  a  rice  plantation  ;  the  fatal  high  bilious  fever  of  the  past  was 
regarded  as  a  certain  consequence,  while  the  African  and  his  de- 
scendants were  immune.  Hence  every  rice  planter  had  a  summer 
home  either  in  the  mountains,  or  on  the  seashore,  or  in  the  belt  of 
pine  woods  a  few  miles  from  the  river,  where  perfect  health  was 
found.  In  1845  my  father  built  a  large,  airy  house  surrounded  with 
wide  piazzas  on  Pawley's  Island,  and  there  he  spent  the  summer, 
with  occasional  trips  north  and  abroad,  until  the  war  made  it  unsafe 
to  occupy  the  island.  Then  he  built  a  log  house  in  the  pineland 
village  of  Peaceville  :  this  large  house  with  double  shingled  roof 
was  built  by  his  plantation  carpenters  with  wooden  pins,  owing  to 
the  blockade  there  being  no  nails  to  be  had.  After  the  war  my 
brother  owned  this,  and  my  mother  in  spite  of  great  difficulties  re- 
turned to  the  beach  as  a  summer  home.  As  the  crow  flies  this  island 
was  about  three  miles  east  of  Cherokee,  but  for  us  mortals  to  reach 
it,  many  miles  by  land  and  water  had  to  be  traversed  —  all  of  our  be- 
longings, servants,  horses,  cows,  furniture,  were  loaded  on  to  lighters 
and  propelled  seven  miles  through  broad  rivers  and  winding  creeks 
to  Waverly  Mills  where  they  were  disembarked  and  travelled  four 
miles  by  land,  but  when  we  reached  this  paradise  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  we  felt  repaid  for  all  the  effort.  It  was  here  we  spent  our 
summers  when  I  began  my  rice-planting  venture.  As  my  mother 
reached  the  limit  which  David  places  for  the  span  of  life,  she  shrank 
from  the  long  move  and  bought  a  house  in  Peaceville  just  opposite 
the  church  and  here  the  last  beautiful  summers  of  her  life  were 
passed  in  peaceful  serenity. 


CHAPTER   II 

January  1. 

ON  the  rice  plantation  the  first  of  January  is  the  time  for 
the  yearly  powwow,  which  the  negroes  regard  as  a 
necessary  function.  It  is  always  a  trial  to  me,  for  I 
never  know  what  may  turn  up,  and  the  talk  requires  great 
tact  and  patience  on  my  part,  not  more,  I  suppose,  however, 
than  any  other  New  Year's  reception.  One  is  so  apt  to  for- 
get that  the  "patte  de  velours"  which  every  one  uses  in  polite 
society  is  even  more  of  a  help  in  dealing  with  the  most  igno- 
rant, and  makes  life  easier  to  all  parties. 

Saturday,  January  2. 
I  went  down  to  Casa  Bianca  for  the  important  talk.  I 
found  two  more  families  had  been  seized  by  the  town  fever. 
Every  year  more  hands  leave  the  plantations  and  flock  to 
the  town,  and  every  year  more  funerals  wend  their  slow  way 
from  the  town  to  the  country ;  for  though  they  all  want  to 
live  in  town,  none  is  so  poor  but  his  ashes  must  be  taken 
"home";  that  is,  to  the  old  plantation  where  his  parents 
and  grandparents  lived  and  died  and  lie  waiting  the  final 
summons.  I  met  such  a  procession  to-day,  an  ox-cart  bear- 
ing the  long  wooden  box,  containing  the  coffin,  and  sitting  on 
top  of  it  the  chief  women  mourners,  veiled  in  crepe ;  behind, 
one  or  two  buggies,  each  containing  more  people  than  it  was 
intended  to  carry  ;  then  behind  that  a  long,  straggling  line  of 
friends  on  foot,  all  wearing  either  black  or  white,  for  their 
taste  forbids  the  wearing  of  any  color  at  a  funeral.  The 
expense  of  a  railroad  journey  does  not  deter  them  from  bring- 
ing their  dead  "home."     The  whole  family  unite  and  "trow 

59 


60 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


pq 


Eh 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  61 

een"  to  make  up  the  sum  necessary  to  bring  the  wanderer 
home,  and  even  the  most  careless  and  indifferent  of  the  former 
owners  respect  the  feeling  and  consent  to  have  those  who  have 
been  working  elsewhere  for  years,  and  who  perhaps  left  them 
in  the  lurch  on  some  trying  occasion,  laid  to  rest  in  the  vine- 
covered  graveyard  on  the  old  plantation. 

Two  years  ago,  a  man  and  his  wife,  of  whom  I  thought  a 
great  deal,  who  had  been  married  and  who  had  lived  always 
at  Casa  Bianca,  left  me  to  go  to  town.  They  had  prospered 
and  bought  the  usual  progression  —  oxen,  cows,  a  horse,  and 
finally  a  house  and  lot  in  the  county  town,  Gregory.  This 
house  they  rented  out  for  several  j^ears,  and  then  the  desire 
came  to  go  and  occupy  and  enjoy  the  house  and  give  up  the 
laborious  rice  planting.  It  seemed  very  natural,  and  though 
I  was  very  sorry  to  part  with  them  I  could  not  say  a  word 
against  the  plan.  Dan  and  Di  were  both  splendid  specimens 
of  physical  health  and  far  above  the  average  in  intelligence, 
capacity,  and  fidelity.  They  went  well  provided,  according 
to  their  standards.  With  his  horse  and  wagon  Dan  sup- 
ported his  family  in  comfort,  hauling  wood,  etc.,  while  Di 
opened  a  little  shop  in  one  of  her  front  rooms,  which  was  well 
patronized,  as  their  house  was  on  the  outskirts  and  far  from 
the  shopping  street. 

One  afternoon,  some  months  after  their  move,  Di  said  to 
Dan :  "I'm  dat  sleepy  I  haf  tu  lay  down,  but  call  me  sho' 
befo'  de  sun  set."  She  left  Dan  smoking  his  pipe  on  the  little 
porch,  where,  about  an  hour  later,  the  youngest  child  came 
to  him  for  something,  and  he  said,  "Go  ax  yo'  Ma,  'e  toll  me 
tu  wake  um  fo'  de  sun  go  down."  The  baby  went  and  re- 
turned reporting,  "Ma  'oudn't  answer  me."  Dan  went  in 
to  find  her  dead.  He  brought  her  home  to  the  plantation 
and  in  a  few  months  his  son  brought  him  also,  to  rest  under 
the  moss-laden  live  oaks. 

This  is  only  one  instance  out  of  many ;   those  accustomed 


62 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


to  regular  outdoor  work  cannot  stand  the  confinement  and 
relaxation  of  town  life. 

But  back  to  the  powwow  at  Casa  Bianca.  The  two  families 
who  are  moving  to  town  carry  off  four  young  girls  who  are 
splendid  workers,  and  very  necessary  to  the  cultivation  of 
my  "wages  fields."  Two  of  the  men  announce  they  are  tired 
of  renting  and  want  to  go  "on  contraak."  This  I  do  not 
quite  understand,  as  they  always  sign  a  paper  promising  to 
do  all  that  is  required  on  the  place,  which  I  have  considered 
a  contract ;  and  I  am  a  good  deal  amused  over  their  efforts 
to  explain,  when  at  last  Marcus,  the  foreman,  says  to  them : 
"De  lady  aint  onde'stan',  kase  he  neber  wuk  contrak,  but 
I   will   make  she  sensible,"  which  he  proceeded  to  do 

with  great      $?$k.  delicacy.    I  found  it  simply  was 

to  work  en-        ilfflL.  (meem      tirely  for  wages  and  not  rent, 


"  Four  young  girls  who  are  splendid  workers." 

and  I  was  expected  to  give  each  one  a  half  acre  of  rice  land 
to  plant,  in  addition  to  their  house  and  large  garden  free  of 
rent,  in  return  for  which  they  were  to  sign  "contraak."  It 
is  impossible  to  show  by  the  writing  the  funny  emphasis 
which  they  put  on  the  last  syllable  of  this  word. 

The  two  hands  were  poor  renters,  so  that  the  present  ar- 
rangement is  perfectly  satisfactory  to  me,  only  the  portion  of 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  63 

land  rented  grows  smaller  year  by  year,  and  where  is  it  to  end  ? 
I  cannot  plant  more  land  on  wages  than  I  do,  for  it  costs  $15 
per  acre,  besides  the  keeping  of  the  banks  and  trunks  on  the 
whole  200  acres.  Last  year  there  were  ten  acres  less  than  the 
year  before,  and  this  year  there  will  be  twenty-five  acres  less 
than  in  1903.  Besides  this,  the  plantation  to  the  north  of 
Casa  Bianca,  whose  lands  adjoin,  has  been  practically 
abandoned,  so  that  the  water  rushes  down  through  its  broken 
river  bank  on  my  fields,  and  I  have  to  go  to  a  heavy  outlay 
to  keep  it  out. 

Marcus  asked  me  to  go  round  the  bank  with  him,  and 
after  thinking  it  well  over  I  have  concluded  to  throw  out  three 
of  my  fields  and  make  up  a  straight  bank  from  the  upland 
down  to  the  Black  River,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  high,  wide, 
and  strong  enough  to  act  as  a  river  bank,  and  resist  the 
rushing  water  which  comes  with  immense  force  in  the  Black 
River,  for  it  is  the  deepest  stream  in  this  section,  in  many 
places  60  or  70  feet  deep.  It  will  cost  a  lot,  and  I  do  not 
know  where  the  money  is  to  come  from  ;  but  if  I  do  not  make 
the  stand  against  the  water,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  plant  any- 
thing, and  this  is  the  place  from  which  I  derive  my  income. 

"He  that  regardeth  the  clouds  shall  neither  sow  nor  reap." 
This  text  is  my  great  stand-by  when  things  look  stormy  and 
I  am  discouraged.  I  suppose  the  rushing  river  may  be  con- 
sidered as  in  some  sort  a  relation,  or  at  any  rate  a  remote 
descendant,  of  the  clouds,  and  I  will  not  regard  it,  but  give 
Marcus  an  order  to  go  to  work  on  the  bank  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  week  after  this  visit  I  was  sent  for  by  the  foreman  at 
Casa  Bianca.  When  I  went  down,  I  found  every  one  in  a 
state  of  unrest  and  ferment.  Nat,  one  of  the  renters,  had 
told  the  others  that  he  had  made  a  special  arrangement  with 
me  by  which  he  was  to  do  only  what  he  wished  to  do.  Now, 
one  would  suppose  that  no  sane  person  would  believe  such  a 


64  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

statement  as  this,  but  I  had  been  seen  talking  to  Nat  apart, 
and  they  were  all  prepared  to  throw  up  their  agreement  and 
go  —  "contraak"  hands  and  all.  It  was  some  time  before 
I  found  out  what  the  matter  was,  for  even  Marcus  was 
entirely  upset  and  talked  mysterious  nonsense  before  he 
finally  gave  me  the  key  to  the  situation.  I  then  assembled 
all  the  men  and  told  Nat  to  recount  what  he  had  said  to  me 
on  that  occasion  and  what  I  had  said  to  him.  He  pretended 
to  have  forgotten.  So  I  related  :  "  You  told  me  your  mother 
wanted  to  move  to  town  and  take  your  three  sisters  with  her, 
so  that  your  working  force  would  be  diminished,  and  you 
would  not  be  able  to  rent  as  much  this  year  as  you  had  done, 
and  you  would  want  only  eight  instead  of  twelve  acres.  I 
told  you  I  was  sorry  your  mother  was  going,  for  though  she 
herself  no  longer  worked  the  girls  were  good  hands.  Then 
I  asked  you  if  you  remembered  when  your  mother  first  came 
to  me.  You  were  a  very  little  boy ;  she  was  in  great  distress, 
having  been  turned  away  from  the  place  where  she  was  living, 
with  her  large  family  of  little  children.  All  her  things  had 
been  put  out  in  the  road  because  she  had  been  fighting,  and 
she  entreated  me  to  give  her  a  house  to  stay  in.  I  told  her 
I  heard  that  she  was  a  '  mighty  warrior '  and  stirred  up  strife 
wherever  she  went.  But  she  promised  not  to  'war'  any  more, 
so  I  gave  her  a  house  and  she  kept  her  promise,  prospered, 
brought  up  her  large  family  respectably,  and  now  owned 
much  'proppity,'  cows,  oxen,  and  pigs,  and  everything  she 
wanted ;  and  the  children  had  all  grown  up  healthy  and 
happy,  and  I  only  hoped  they  might  retain  their  health  of 
soul  and  body  in  town." 

They  all  listened  attentively  while  Nat  punctuated  my 
narration  with  "Yes,  ma'am,"  at  every  comma.  Then  I 
said:  "Did  I  say  anything  more  to  you,  Nat?"  "No, 
ma'am  ;  dat's  all."  Then  indignation  broke  out  on  Nat  from 
the  assembled  hands.      "En  yo'  tole  all  dem  lie  fo'  mek  we 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


65 


fool  !     I  mos'  bin  gone  way,"  and  much  more,  all  talking  at 

once.     Nat  only  looked  foolish  and  said  :   "I  jes'  bin  a  fun." 

I  gave  him  a  serious  talk,  and  the  hands  scattered  in  high  good 

humor ;  but  if  I  had  not  gone  down  that 

day,  in  all  probability  the  whole  party 

would  have  packed  up  their  household 

goods  in  their  ox-carts  and  left,  "con-      ^j 

traak  "  hands  and  all !    Marcus  said, 

with  his  usual  dignity:    "Myself, 

ma'am,  bin  most  turn  stupid" 

—  as  though  no  words  could 
express  more  fully  the  seri- 
ousness of  the  situation. 

March  12.       V->- 

Since  then  things 
have  gone  very  com- 
fortably and  quietly  at 
Casa  Bianca.  The  field  I  am  to 
plant  in  April  has  been  well  ploughed, 
the  ditches  cleaned,  and  finally  the 
division  bank  made  up  splendidly. 
Across  the  canal  and  down  to  the 
river  it  is  one  foot  above  "full  moon  tide."  I  have  twenty- 
six  fine  lambs,  born  in  January.  At  Cherokee,  also,  I  have 
had  some  good  work  done.  My  "wages  field"  there  was 
ploughed  early  in  February,  so  that  the  frost  has  had  a 
chance  to  mellow  it.  I  have  ten  acres  of  fine  oats  growing 
and  ten  acres  prepared  for  corn ;  pigs,  cows,  and  everything 
doing  well,  except  the  lambs.  Nine  were  born  in  January, 
but  some  "varmint,"  Bonaparte  reports,  has  killed  seven. 
I  know  the  "varmint"  is  a  dog,  somebody's  treasure,  so  that 
it  cannot  be  convicted,  and  every  other  animal  is  suspected, 

—  fox,  wildcat ;  and  many  strange  tracks  are  talked  of. 


She  promised  not  to  war 
any  more. 


66 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


At  Cherokee  I  had  to  put  down  a  new  trunk,  which  is  quite 
a  business.  It  requires  knowledge  of  a  certain  kind,  but  is 
very  simple,  like  most  things,  to  those  who  know.  To  me  it 
seems  a  terrible  undertaking,  for  if  it  is  badly  done,  the 
trunk  may  blow  out  when  the  field  is  planted,  and  ruin  the 
crop.  Knowing  so  little  as  I  do,  I  thought  it  best  to  leave 
it  to  Bonaparte,  so  I  did  not  go  over  to  the  place,  which  is 
about  a  mile  away  through  winding  creeks. 

The  tide  suited  the  morning,  January  12,  and  the  weather 

was  mild.     I  waited  with  great  anxiety  for  the  return  of  the 

hands  in  the  evening.     I  rushed  down  to  the 

barnyard  when  I  heard  the  boat,  and  asked 

if   the   trunk   was   well   down.     Bonaparte 

smiled  in  his  superior  way. 

"Well,  no,  ma'am ;  de  fac'  is  we  neber 
did  git  de  ole  trunk  out." 
"What,"  I  said,  "you  have  left  it  half 
done?" 

"Oh,  no,   ma'am.     We   bruk   up   de   ole 
trunk  an'  tuk  out  all  but  de  bottom." 
"Then  the  water  is  rushing  through  to-night, 

~^v,„._, t  _     making    the    gulf    wider    and 

—•—■"'       wider?" 
uMVn.M»      "Yes,  ma'am." 
"  Myself,  ma'am,  bin  most  I  was  speechless.     There  was 

no  use  saying  anything,  but  I 
decided  to  go  over  the  next  day  and  use  my  common  sense, 
if  I  had  no  knowledge.  Bonaparte  told  me  he  could  not  get 
the  hands,  any  of  them,  to  go  down  in  the  water,  and  no 
trunk  can  be  buried  with  dry  feet. 

The  next  morning,  January  13,  I  went,  carrying  lunch  and 
a  bottle  of  home-made  wine,  with  a  stick  in  it  for  those  who 
were  to  get  wet.  It  was  a  beautiful  bright  day,  with  the 
thermometer  at  50  at  9  o'clock,  for  which  I  was  very  thank- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  67 

fill.  The  tide  was  not  low  enough  for  anything  to  be  done 
until  then.  I  had  had  three  flatloads  of  mud  cut  and  put 
on  the  bank,  and  everything  was  at  hand.  The  getting  up 
of  the  bottom  planks  was  at  last  accomplished,  and  then  the 
new  trunk  floated  in  to  place  on  the  last  of  the  ebb,  so  that 
it  settled  itself  into  its  new  bed  on  the  low  water,  and  then 
the  filling  up  was  a  perfect  race,  so  much  mud  to  be  put  in 
before  the  tide  began  to  rise,  besides  the  inclination  of  the 
bank  to  cave  in.  I  kept  urging  the  two  men  down  in  the 
gulf  to  pack  the  fresh  mud  well  as  it  was  thrown  in.  The 
stringpiece  and  ground  logs  which  Bonaparte  had  provided 
were,  according  to  my  ideas,  entirely  inadequate,  and  I  sent 
four  hands  to  an  island  near  by  to  cut  larger,  heavier  pieces. 
Altogether,  the  day  was  one  of  the  most  exciting  and  interest- 
ing I  ever  spent,  though  I  stood  six  hours  on  the  top  of  a 
pile  of  mud  on  a  small  piece  of  plank,  where  I  had  to  balance 
myself  with  care  to  look  into  the  gulf  and  not  topple  over. 
It  was  black  dark  when  we  left  the  trunk,  but  the  mud  was 
well  packed,  with  every  appearance  of  solidity  and  stability, 
and  the  next  day  I  had  two  more  flatloads  of  mud  put  on, 
and,  though  a  freshet  has  come  and  gone  since,  "she"  has 
not  stirred,  and  the  field  drains  beautifully. 

The  company  which  planted  the  places  next  to  Cherokee 
has  broken  up.  One  of  the  principal  investors  told  me  that 
he  had  had  his  money  in  it  for  seven  years,  and  never  got  a 
cent  of  interest,  and  he  was  thankful  to  get  out  of  it.  They 
have  taken  all  my  best  hands,  one  by  one,  but  they  have 
not  succeeded  —  did  not  make  money  for  all  that.  And  this 
year  the  price  of  rice  has  gone  down,  so  that  what  has  been 
made  brings  only  half  of  what  was  hoped  for. 

I  believe  these  lands  would  make  a  great  deal  if  we  under- 
stood the  cutting  and  curing  of  hay,  for  the  grass  grows  most 
luxuriantly  if  the  land  is  ploughed  and  left,  but  the  curing 
of  hay  is  unknown  to  the  rice-field  darky. 


68  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

Our  uplands  are  very  fertile  and  adapted  to  any  crop,  it 
seems.  Last  year  a  few  tried  cotton  and  did  very  well  with- 
out any  commercial  fertilizer.  The  only  trouble  is  the  nice 
cultivation  cotton  requires.  I  had  a  little  planted.  We  did 
very  well  and  sold  at  15|,  but  I  am  afraid  to  plant  more  than 
an  acre  or  two,  as  I  cannot  get  it  kept  clean,  which  is  essential 
to  cotton. 

The  freshet,  which  we  always  look  for  after  the  melting  of 
the  snows  in  the  mountains,  has  not  yet  come.  We  had  one 
a  month  ago,  but  now  it  has  subsided,  and  the  rush  of  prep- 
aration for  planting  should  go  on ;  but  I  find  it  impossible 
to  enthuse  my  renters.  A  lethargy  seems  to  have  fallen 
upon  them,  and  if  I  only  had  the  money,  I  would  plant  all  the 
available  land  myself.  But  that  is  a  very  big  if,  and  I  must 
just  have  patience  and  try  to  rouse  their  energy.  Above  me 
there  are  only  a  very  few  acres  planted,  as  the  freshet  is 
more  disastrous  the  higher  up  the  river  you  go.  About  two 
miles  above  me  is  a  historic  plantation,  where  Marion  made 
a  very  narrow  escape  from  his  British  pursuers  by  jumping 
into  a  canoe  and  pushing  up  a  small  creek,  while  the  British, 
after  some  delay  in  getting  a  boat,  rowed,  as  they  thought, 
after  him,  but  followed  the  bold,  wide  stream  of  the  Thor- 
oughfare, which  took  them  rapidly  away  from  him. 

This  is  the  home  of  a  very  remarkable  woman,  who  has, 
by  her  own  exertions,  educated  her  sisters  and  brothers  and 
paid  off  the  mortgage  on  the  plantation.  The  family  was 
wealthy  and  accustomed  to  the  liberal  use  of  money,  but  when 
the  end  of  the  war  came,  they  found  themselves  with  nothing 
but  the  land,  not  a  cent  to  plant  or  to  buy  food.  This  young 
girl  received  a  present  of  a  small  sum  of  money  from  a  relative 
in  England,  which  she  invested  in  supplies  that  every  one 
was  in  need  of,  opened  a  small  store,  and  as  fast  as  she  sold 
out  reinvested  the  money ;  showing  wonderful  cleverness 
and  strength  and  perseverance.     She  has  been  the  only  stay 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


69 


of  a  large  family,  always  ready  to  throw  herself  in  the  breach 
and  pay  anything  that  was  needed.  After  buying  the  place 
in,  she  planted  successfully  for  one  or  two  years.  Then  the 
freshets  began,  and,  after  two  or  three  very  disastrous  years 
of  loss,  she  showed  her  good  judgment  by  giving  up  planting 
altogether,  and  all  that  splendid  rice  land,  under  the  finest, 
heaviest  banks,  is  just  returning  to  its  original  condition. of 
swamp,  growing  up  in  cy- 
press. She  has  land  also 
covered  with  splendid  tim- 
ber, which  must  even- 
tually be  of  great  value, 
but  as  yet  the  money 
value  of  such  things  has 
not  reached  us,  and  the 
little  shop  continues  to 
support  a  large  family  in 
their  beautiful  historic 
home,  where  with  lovely 
flowers  and  beautiful  oaks, 
every  fence  and  hedge 
covered   at   this  season 

with  the  glowing,  sweet-smelling  yellow  jessamine,  she  leads 
a  useful,  contented,  beautiful  life,  a  blessing  to  all  around. 

I  mentioned  in  my  last  letter  that  I  had  lost  my  good  Jim, 
who  had  been  with  me  fifteen  years.  I  tried  in  vain  to  fill 
his  place,  but  there  was  no  one  to  be  had  that  was  reliable ; 
so  I  got  a  mountaineer  in  August,  paying  his  way  down  from 
the  Blue  Ridge.  He  promised  well,  but  on  the  fifth  day  he 
was  seized  with  nostalgia,  and  I  had  to  drive  him  the  eigh- 
teen miles  to  the  railroad  and  put  him  on  a  train  to  return 
to  his  beloved  mountains. 

I  would  have  had  to  return  the  eighteen  miles  alone  on  the 
road  had  I  not  met  Jim,  who  was  as  pleased  to  see  me  as  I 


70  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

was  to  see  him ;  for  the  town  life  which  his  wife  so  loves  is 
odious  to  Jim,  and  he  asked  permission  to  return  to  me 
until  I  got  some  one. 

Being  a  person  not  easily  daunted,  I  again  engaged  a 
mountaineer,  not  finding  it  possible  to  get  a  good  darky,  paid 
his  way  down  and  had  Jim  show  him  all  his  duties,  the  roads, 
etc.,  and  he  seemed  a  very  hopeful  person  ;  and  Jim  returned 
to  the  hated  town,  satisfied  as  to  my  having  competent  help. 
Mountaineer  number  two  showed  no  trace  of  homesickness 
for  four  months ;  but  then  suddenly,  one  day,  it  took  him. 
It  was  no  surprise  to  me.  I  knew  it  would  come,  and  had 
got  a  black  boy  as  help  in  case  of  emergency ;  so  that  when 
the  attack  came,  I  had  Jake  get  the  wagon  and  drive  us  to 
town,  and  I  put  mountaineer  number  two  on  the  train.  Then 
I  increased  Jake's  wages  and  put  him  in  charge  of  the  stable. 

Last  week  when  I  went  to  Casa  Bianca  to  pay  off,  I  took 
a  niece  and  her  two  children,  who  were  staying  with  me, 
and  we  had  a  very  pleasant  picnic  dinner.  The  four-year-old 
children  had  never  been  in  the  country,  and  enjoyed  every- 
thing, especially  the  lambs.  Jake's  home  is  about  300  yards 
from  Casa  Bianca  avenue,  and  at  12  o'clock  I  told  him  that 
he  could  go  and  see  his  mother  for  two  hours,  and  that  I 
wanted  to  leave  at  3  :  30  o'clock.  Jake,  however,  did  not 
return  till  5:  30  o'clock,  though  I  sent  after  him;  and,  in 
his  hurry,  instead  of  calling  the  horses,  which  had  been  turned 
out  on  the  lawn  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  pasture,  he  ran  them. 
Some  one  had  left  the  gate  open,  and  they  dashed  through 
it  and  never  stopped  running  till  they  reached  the  gate 
at  Cherokee,  eight  miles  away,  leaving  me  with  my  party 
of  city  friends,  the  sun  setting  and  no  horses  to  take  us 
home ! 

Two  men  on  the  place  owned  horses,  but  they  were  turned 
out  and  could  not  be  got  up  for  some  time.  Besides,  one  was  a 
terrible  kicker  and  the  other  a  runaway.     I  had  to  act  quickly. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  71 

I  said  to  the  old  watchman  :  "  Go  and  tell  the  man  with  the 
fastest  ox-team  on  the  place  to  come  here  with  his  cart  at 
once."  In  a  very  short  time  Nat  appeared  with  a  large  black 
ox  in  a  little  cart  of  wonderful  construction.  I  did  not  see 
how  it  was  possible  for  a  lady,  two  children,  and  a  maid  to 
get  into  it ;  but,  apparently,  it  was  the  best  that  could  be 
done.  They  had  walked  on,  and  I  told  Nat  to  go  as  fast  as 
possible  and  pick  up  as  many  of  the  party  as  he  could  carry, 
and  I  would  follow,  as  soon  as  the  kicking  horse  could  be  put 
into  a  buggy,  and  take  the  rest.  He  assured  me  his  cart  could 
carry  all,  and  went  off  at  a  rapid  trot.  After  what  seemed 
an  age,  Marcus  came  with  his  kicker,  and  with  the  wraps, 
lunch  basket,  and  other  encumbrances  I  got  in  and  drove 
rapidly  after  the  party,  which  was  the  funniest  looking  in 
the  world ;  Nat  running  alongside  and  nourishing  an  im- 
mense cowhide  lash,  A.  and  the  maid  seated  on  a  board 
which  was  balanced  on  the  sides  of  the  little  structure  so  as 
to  make  a  seat,  the  little  boy  sitting  behind  with  his  feet 
dangling  and  the  little  girl  tightly  clasped  in  her  mother's 
arms.  They  had  gone  four  miles  in  this  wonderful  fashion. 
As  soon  as  we  caught  them,  I  made  A.  get  out  and  take 
the  children  in  the  buggy,  while  I  climbed  into  the  ox  jumper 
with  the  maid  and  told  Marcus  to  drive  home  as  quickly 
as  possible,  as  the  children  should  not  have  been  out  so  late. 
I  had  been  utterly  wretched  till  I  came  up  with  them  and 
found  them  all  unharmed.  Then  my  spirits  rose  and  bubbled 
over.  It  struck  me  that  the  others  were  a  little  quiet, 
but  I  never  knew  the  reason  until  we  were  all  safely  enjoying 
our  evening  meal.  The  maid  was  supposed  to  be  driving, 
while  A.  held  the  little  girl  and  Nat  goaded  on  the  ox,  and 
at  a  very  rough  bridge  the  ox  stumbled,  the  maid  fell  out, 
and  the  wheel  ran  over  her,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  party 
without  any  hold  on  the  big  black  ox  !  A  most  tragic  situa- 
tion, and  such  a  mercy  no  one  was  hurt.     It  was  very  good 


72 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


of  them  not  to  tell  me  until  afterward,  and  it  was  truly  mag- 
nanimous of  the  maid  to  remark  to  Nat  as  she  extricated 
herself  from  the  ingenious  contrivance,  which  he  had  con- 
structed himself :  "  It  surely  is  the  handiest  little  vehicle  I 
ever  did  see." 

Saturday.  I  suddenly  awoke  to  the  fact  after  breakfast 
this  morning  that  I  had  a  note  which  was  due  at  the  bank 
to-day.  It  was  pouring,  and  if  I  sent  a  check  by  mail,  it 
would  not  be  received  until  Monday,  as  the  mail  gets  in  after 
business  hours.  I  called  Dab  and  asked  him  if  he  thought 
he  could  walk  down  to  Gregory  and  take  an  important 
letter  to  the  bank  before  2  o'clock.     He  answered  promptly 

that  he  could.  I  got  the 
letter  ready  and  told  him 
he  could  spend  the  night 
with  his  sisters  and  return 
by  1  o'clock  to-morrow. 
He  started  armed  with  a 
large  package  of  lunch  and 
with  my  best  umbrella  and 
a  dollar  to  spend.  While 
I  was  taking  my  tea  at 
6  o'clock,  to  my  surprise 
Dab  walked  in  with  a 
letter.  He  said  Mr.  S— 
gave  him  the  answer  and  he  thought  he  had  better  not  go 
anywhere  with  that  important  letter,  and  so  he  had  come 
straight  back  home  !  I  was  so  pleased  and  cheered  by  this 
evidence  of  his  sense  of  responsibility  and  fidelity  to  a  trust. 
I  had  felt  ill  and  miserable  all  day.  I  told  him  how 
pleased  I  was  and  thanked  him  heartily  and  told  Chloe  to 
give  him  a  very  fine  supper  after  his  walk  of  twenty-eight 
miles. 

Sunday.     I  went  to  church  this  morning  feeling  very  down, 


A  rice  field 


flowed. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  73 

which  was  wicked,  for  God's  goodness  is  always  there.  When 
I  looked  around  our  little  church,  where  a  literal  Scriptural 
quorum  of  two  or  three  was  gathered  together,  my  eye  was 
gladdened  by  the  sight  of  a  charming  new  suit  of  reseda 
cloth  with  a  heliotrope  toque  !  Then  across  the  aisle  I  saw 
a  cinnamon  brown  suit  with  a  hat  to  match  !  Positively 
my  spirits  rose  at  once. 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  our  mourning-clad  congregation, 
nearly  every  one  of  us  wearing  black,  we  all  know  each  other's 
very  respectable  costumes  from  year  to  year  and  watch  with 
interest  the  successful  and  often  ingenious  remodelling  of 
sleeves  —  I  being  the  only  recalcitrant  who  will  not  cut  over 
sleeves,  feeling  sure  that  they  will  come  back  into  vogue 
(which  they  always  do  before  the  faithful  garment  is  laid  to 
rest)  —  we  never  expect  anything  so  astonishing  as  a  brand- 
new  tailor-made  suit,  and  in  colors  too,  and  now  to  have  the 
eye  refreshed  by  two,  is  cause  for  rejoicing. 
s-  On  Monday,  April  18, 1  planted  the  wages  field  at  Cherokee. 
Here  we  cannot  so  well  use  the  machines,  so  I  have  the  field 
sown  by  hand.  I  am  planting  mill-threshed  rice  in  this  field, 
which  is  an  experiment  on  my  part.  In  the  autumn  a  buyer 
for  a  large  rice  mill  in  North  Carolina  came  to  make  an  offer 
for  my  rice;  and  he  spoke  of  the  "superstition,"  as  he  called 
it,  of  planters  in  this  state  that  only  hand-whipped  rice  could 
be  planted  to  make  good  crops.  He  said  the  large  crops  made 
in  Texas  and  Louisiana,  which  are  practically  ruining  the  rice 
industry  in  this  section  by  keeping  down  the  price,  are  the 
result  of  mill-threshed  rice  —  none  other  is  known  or  thought 
of.  This  made  a  great  impression  on  me,  for  the  whipping 
by  hand  is  a  very  expensive  process,  more  so  than  the  actual 
cost  of  the  work,  because  it  gives  such  unlimited  opportunity 
for  stealing. 

I  had  the  habit  formerly  of  planting  twenty-five  acres  and 
dividing  the  rice ;  twelve  and  a  half  acres  I  sent  to  the  thresh- 


74  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

ing  mill  in  a  lighter,  the  other  twelve  and  a  half  I  had  taken 
into  the  barnyard,  stacked,  and  when  thoroughly  cured,  had 
it  whipped  out  for  seed.  The  half  sent  to  mill  always  turned 
out  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre;  the 
part  saved  for  seed  turned  out  from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels 
to  the  acre. 

That  happened  several  years  in  succession.  I  never  have 
had  a  field  hand-whipped  turn  out  over  twenty  bushels  to 
the  acre,  and  I  have  seldom  had  one  threshed  in  the  mill 
until  these  last  very  bad  years  turn  out  under  thirty. 

All  of  this  made  me  determine  to  try  planting  mill-threshed 
rice  this  year.  I  planted  a  small  portion  in  a  bowl  of  water 
on  cotton,  which  is  the  approved  way  of  trying  seed,  and 
nearly  every  single  seed  germinated  and  shot  up  a  fine 
healthy  leaf.  So  I  felt  no  hesitation  about  it ;  and  I  began 
with  my  wages  field,  putting  half  a  bushel  more  to  the  acre 
in  case  there  should  be  some  grains  cracked  in  the  mill.  I 
went  over  early  to  the  field  and  sat  on  the  bank  all  clay,  while 
Bonaparte  and  Abram  followed  the  sowers. 

The  women  are  very  graceful  as  they  sow  the  rice  with  a 
waving  movement  of  the  hands,  at  the  same  time  bending 
low  so  that  the  wind  may  not  scatter  the  grain ;  and  a  good 
sower  gets  it  all  straight  in  the  furrow.  Their  skirts  are 
tied  up  around  their  hips  in  a  very  picturesque  style,  and 
as  they  walk  they  swing  in  a  wonderful  way.  This  peculiar 
arrangement  allows  room  for  one  or  two  narroAV  sacks  (under 
the  skirt),  which  can  hold  a  peck  of  rice,  and  some  of  the 
sowers,  if  weighed  on  the  homeward  trip,  would  be  found  to 
have  gained  many  pounds.  They  are  all  very  gentle  and  con- 
siderate in  their  manner  to-day,  for  a  great  sorrow  has  fallen 
on  the  family.  Their  tender,  sympathetic  manner  is  more 
to  me  than  many  bushels  of  rice,  and  I  turn  my  back  when 
they  are  dipping  it  out. 

I  have  offered  hand-whipped  rice  for  sale  at  $1.30  a  bushel, 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  75 

and  mill-threshed  at  $1  per  bushel,  and  have  sold  159  bushels 

of  the  former  and  225  bushels  of  the  latter,  which  has  been 

a  great  help.     We  have  made  a  fine  start  on  the  upland  crop, 

and  the  corn  looks  very  well.     The  small  acreage  planted  in 

cotton  also  looks  well,  and  I  hope  it  will  be  worked  properly 

while  I  am  gone. 

May  9. 

Left  Cherokee  for  a  month's  absence,  and  drove  to  Gregory 
to  take  the  through  train  to  Washington,  where  I  arrived 
the  next  morning  in  time  for  breakfast.  I  have  a  duty  which 
calls  me  away.  It  was  a  pity  to  have  to  leave  now,  for  the 
people  had  just  become  roused  to  an  interest  in  preparing 
the  land  for  their  crop,  and  it  is  the  first  propitious  season 
we  have  had  for  three  years  with  no  spring  freshet,  and  I 
hope  to  get  about  100  acres  planted  at  Cherokee.  I  feel 
better  satisfied  to  leave  since  Jim  has  returned  to  work  with 
me  and  will  take  entire  charge  of  the  upland  crop.  His 
health  suffered  in  the  confinement  of  the  town  work.  He 
was  in  bed  a  good  deal  of  the  time,  and,  what  with  lost  time 
and  doctor's  bills,  his  wife  found  they  were  worse  off  instead 
of  better,  and  finally,  after  nine  months,  she  begged  him  to 
come  and  ask  me  to  take  him  back,  which  I  gladly  did,  and 
he  has  gone  to  work  with  enthusiasm. 

While  away,  I  visited  Washington,  Mount  Vernon,  Balti- 
more, and  New  York,  and  was  much  impressed  by  the  im- 
mense strides  made  in  every  way  since  my  last  visit.  The 
increase  of  wealth  and  luxury,  the  fact  that  simplicity  of 
life  is  becoming  impossible  even  to  those  who  would  prefer 
it,  the  rush  and  the  hurry  which  one  cannot  avoid,  the  tyr- 
anny of  fashion  which  no  one  seems  able  to  shake  off  —  all 
of  these  things  amazed  me.  My  good  black  Chloe  once  sur- 
prised me  by  saying :  "You  know,  Miss  Patience,  ef  yu  aint 
een  de  fashi'n  yu  may's  well  be  dead!  "  But  Chloe  follows 
at  such  a  very  respectful  distance  that  the  "fashi'n"  so  vital 


76  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

to  her  at  this  moment  is  a  watered  form  of  what  was  worn  in 
New  York  four  years  ago.  Still,  I  recognize  in  it  the  same 
note  which  I  find  dominant  wherever  I  go  and  which 
is  to  me  incomprehensible — -it  doesn't  seem  to  me  very 
self-respecting  to  feel  obliged  to  follow  some  one  else's 
taste  so  absolutely.  One's  eye  naturally  turns  toward  the 
changes  of  mode  which  are  pretty,  but  to  feel  bound  to  follow 
simply  because  fashion  decrees,  I  do  not  understand. 

I  saw  many  things  that  interested  me  greatly.  One  even- 
ing I  was  walking  back  to  the  St.  Denis  about  10 :  30  when 
my  escort  said:  "That  scarcely  seems  possible  at  this 
season."  "What?"  I  asked.  He  pointed  to  a  closely 
pressed  row  of  men  in  a  single  file,  on  the  edge  of  the  pave- 
ment, one  immediately  behind  the  other  in  perfect  order : 
decently  dressed,  respectable-looking  men.  It  had  a  strange 
look  to  me,  and  I  asked  the  meaning  of  it.  "That's  the 
Fleischman  line."  This  conveyed  nothing  to  me.  "It  is 
a  great  bakery  here,  which  for  years  has  distributed  every 
night  at  twelve  all  the  bread  left  over  from  the  day's  bake, 
one  loaf  to  each  man.  I  know  that  in  winter  the  line  extends 
many  blocks,  but  at  this  season  I  am  surprised  to  see  such  a 
line  at  this  hour ;  it  will  be  twice  as  long  by  midnight."  My 
heart  just  stood  still  as  I  looked  at  it. 

That  so  many  men,  looking  so  respectable,  could  need  a 
loaf  of  bread,  and  wait  silently,  patiently  for  hours  together 
seemed  impossible  to  me.  Where  I  live  there  is  no  hunger, 
no  want ;  life  is  so  easy,  food  so  plentiful.  A  few  hours' 
work  daily  feeds  a  man  and  his  family. 

One  day  Jim  was  driving  to  town  to  spend  Sunday  with 
his  family,  and  the  next  day  he  told  me  that  he  had  met  an 
old  woman  on  the  road  going  from  one  plantation  to  another. 
She  seemed  half  blind  and  looked  so  miserable  that  he  stopped 
and  asked  her  where  she  was  going,  and  offered  to  take  her 
there  in  the  wagon,  as  he  had  to  pass  right  by.     He  helped 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  77 

her  in  and  she  told  him  she  was  very  hungry  —  had  eaten 
nothing  since  the  day  before. 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "Jim,  did  you  give  her  something  to  eat?" 

"I  didn't  have  nothing  to  eat  with  me,  ma'am,  but  the 
sticks  of  candy  you  giv  me  to  take  to  my  chillun ;  but  I  giv 
her  them,  en  you  never  see  any  one  so  please'."  Then  he 
went  on  to  say  :  — 

"It  seems  to  me  sence  I  ken  remember  this  is  the  first  per- 
son I  ever  seen  real  hungry." 

"You  mean  you  have  never  met  a  hungry  person  on  the 
road  before?" 

"  I  never  met  none  on  the  road  nor  never  seen  none  nowhere 
that  was  perishin'  with  hunger." 

I  was  scarcely  surprised,  for  my  mother  always  at  Christmas 
told  her  man  servant  to  find  out  the  poor  and  those  needing 
food  that  she  might  supply  it.  The  old  man  always  reported 
that  there  was  no  one  he  could  find  in  need  of  food,  but  plenty 
to  whom  a  present  of  tea  and  coffee  would  be  most  acceptable, 
and  to  these  the  packages  of  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  and  tobacco 
always  went. 

The  next  thing  I  wish  to  mention  is  my  visit  to  the  Agri- 
cultural Department  in  Washington.  I  went  in  search  of 
information  as  to  the  planting  of  alfalfa,  and  the  use  of  the 
impregnated  soil,  which  is  said  almost  to  insure  success. 
That  is  the  crop  to  which  I  look  with  much  hope  for  our 
uplands,  and  I  have  much  at  heart  to  take  in  a  beautifully 
drained  area  of  thirty  acres  which  has  been  pastured  for  some 
years  and  plant  it  eventually  all  in  alfalfa.  At  first  I  could 
not  get  more  than  ten  acres  in  fine  enough  condition,  I  sup- 
pose ;  but  all  that  I  can  plant  this  year  I  wish  to.  I  have 
already  bought  the  wire  to  enclose  it,  which  is  a  heavy  outlay, 
and  had  the  cedar  posts  got  out,  so  that  it  will  not  cost  much  to 
get  the  fence  put  up  ;  but  I  have  no  proper  disk  harrows  and 
cultivators  to  put  the  soil  in  the  best  condition,  and  the  out- 


78  A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 

lay  is  too  heavy  to  venture  on  buying  them,  so  I  will  do  the 
best  I  can  with  my  old-fashioned  implements  and  plant  a 
heavy  crop  of  cow-peas  on  the  land  as  a  preparation  for  the 
alfalfa,  which  I  will  not  plant  till  September. 

It  was  a  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction  to  find  men  of  in- 
telligence and  education  whose  whole  time  is  devoted  to  the 
effort  to  promote  the  productiveness  of  soil  everywhere,  and 
to  find  them  willing,  I  may  say  eager,  to  assist  me  in  every 
way.  All  the  information  was  given  in  a  brief  and  yet  cour- 
teous way  that  was  a  great  boon  to  me,  and  the  reading  matter 
furnished  me  by  them  on  the  subject  will  make  it  plain 
sailing,  if  only  I  succeed  in  getting  good  seed ;  and  the  impreg- 
nated soil,  I  believe,  will  prove  a  blessing  to  this  section  and 
solve  many  problems. 

On  my  return  after  a  very  hot  journey  I  reached  Gregory 
at  10  o'clock  at  night  and  drove  to  a  pineland  two  miles 
away,  where  I  was  most  hospitably  received  and  spent  a 
delightfully  cool  night.  The  heat  in  Washington  and  New 
York  had  been  extraordinary  for  the  season.  The  next 
morning  I  attended  to  my  business  in  Gregory  and  started  on 
my  homeward  drive  of  twenty  miles  about  10  o'clock.  I 
drove  first  to  Casa  Bianca,  where  the  June  rice  wages  field 
of  twenty-six  acres  was  being  planted.  I  found  Marcus  and 
the  hands  in  fine  spirits.  The  April  rice  was  very  fine,  they 
said,  especially  the  River  Wragg,  though  Marcus  told  me  it 
was  suffering  greatly  from  the  need  of  hoeing,  but  he  could  not 
stop  the  preparation  of  the  land  for  the  June  planting  to  hoe 
it  out.  This  trouble  is  due  to  the  moving  of  so  many  of  the 
young  people  last  winter  to  town.  They  were  all  good  hoe 
hands  and  there  is  no  one  to  take  their  place.  The  men  now 
think  it  beneath  them  to  handle  a  hoe ;  that  they  consider  a 
purely  feminine  implement;  the  plough  alone  is  man's  tool. 

I  stayed  at  Casa  Bianca  until  3  and  then  drove  to  Chero- 
kee, where  everything  had  a  very  different  aspect.     When  I 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


79 


drove  into  the  barnyard,  after  the  usual  exchange  of  polite- 
ness with  Bonaparte  as  to  the  health  of  each  member  of  the 
family,  I  asked  him  how  the  rice  crop  looked.  He  laughed 
in  a  scornful  way  and  said  :  "Wy>  ma'am,  I  may's  well  say 
der  ain't  none."  "No  crop,  Bonaparte ;  what  do  you  mean?" 
He  continued  to  smile  in  his  superior  way,  and  the  hands 
standing  round  chimed  in  :  "Yu'  right,  Uncle 
Bonaparte,  you  may's  well  say  dey's 
none,  we  fiel'  ain'  got  none  tall  een 
um,  'tis  dat  mill  trash  rice ;  you  kin  see  de 
rice  dead  een  de  row  wid  de  long  sprout  on 
um,  all  dead."  I  answered  quickly,  "If 
the  seed  is  dead  with  a  long  sprout 
on  it,  that  proves  conclusively  that 
the  seed  was  not  to  blame;  if  the 
seed  had  been  defective,  it  would 
not  have  sprouted.  There  was  a 
good  stand  in  Varunreen ;  before  I 
left,  the  sprout  water  had  been 
drawn."  "Well,  ma'am,  dey  ain't 
nun  dey  now  to  speak  of . "  "  How  is  the  tide  now  ?"  "  Most 
high  water  now,  ma'am."  "Get  my  boat  out  at  once  and  I 
will  go  over  and  see  for  myself." 

While  they  were  getting  the  boat  one  of  the  hands  asked 
me  to  give  him  seed  to  replant  his  land.  "What  is  the  use  if 
you  think  the  seed  is  bad  ?  "  "  We  want  you  f er  buy  mo'  seed. 
Col.  Naples  got  seed  fu'  a  dollar  en  forty  cent  a  bushel." 
I  told  him  I  had  no  money  to  buy  more  seed  ;  I  was  willing  to 
give  them  more  of  the  same  rice  which  I  had  if  they  wished 
to  replant,  but  that  was  all  I  could  do. 

I  got  into  my  little  white  canoe,  which  I  call  the  "Whiting," 
and  had  Bill,  one  of  the  most  pessimistic  renters,  to  row  me 
down  the  river.  The  tide  was  high.  I  was  able  to  step  out 
on  the  bank  without  any  sticking  in  the  mud,  which  makes 


The  hoe  they  consider 
purely  a  feminine  im- 
plement. 


80  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

it  such  a  horrid  trip  when  the  tide  is  low.  I  was  greatly 
relieved  at  sight  of  the  field.  There  was  plenty  of  rice  in 
it,  as  I  pointed  out  to  Bill  as  he  walked  round  the  bank  be- 
hind me.  The  rice  was  stunted  and  growing  poorly,  and  upon 
inquiry  I  found  that  it  had  been  dry  during  the  month  I 
was  away.  Though  not  a  drop  of  rain  had  fallen  in  that  time, 
it  had  not  been  moistened  by  letting  the  water  into  the 
ditches,  as  it  should  have  been  from  time  to  time.  That 
would  have  made  all  the  difference  in  the  growth  of  the  rice ; 
but  foreman,  trunk  minder,  and  hands  were  all  so  sure  it 
could  never  make  a  crop,  being  mill-threshed  seed,  that  they 
have  not  given  it  a  chance,  content  to  declare  loudly  that 
there  is  no  rice  in  the  field. 

I  am  greatly  comforted  by  the  sight  of  it,  for  there  is  plenty 
of  rice  there  to  make  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre  should  no  dis- 
aster come  to  it;  and  I  get  into  the  little  "Whiting"  with  a 
quieter  mind,  though  still  greatly  distressed  about  the  hands' 
rice.  The  row  back  is  most  refreshing,  there  is  such  a  breeze, 
but  the  sun  having  gone  down  suddenly,  the  damp  chills  me, 
for  I  had  not  thought  of  taking  a  "wrap,  it  was  so  hot  when  I 
left  the  wagon.  I  give  orders  to  Bonaparte  to  have  the  field 
hoed  out  at  once  so  that  the  water  can  be  put  on  as  soon  as 
possible.  Then  I  interview  the  trunk  minder,  "whose  business 
it  is  to  water  the  rice,  and  ask  the  meaning  of  this  talk  of 
there  being  no  rice  in  the  rented  fields.  He  begins  about 
mill-threshed  seed,  but  I  show  him  the  glass  dish  of  rice  in 
which  every  grain  had  sprouted  and  grown  vigorously.  The 
sight  of  this  seems  to  confuse  him.  Then  he  mentions  that 
he  had  got  a  bushel  from  me  "to  plant  out  to  his  house  een 
a  bottom,"  and  that  he  never  saw  a  prettier  show  than  that 
patch  of  rice.  "Then,"  I  say,  "you  see  it  is  not  the  seed; 
you  must  have  left  that  rice  exposed  in  some  way  to  the 
hot  sun  just  as  it  sprouted."  "Dat's  a  truth,  my  missis; 
it  must  be  so.     I  did  shift  the  water  and  I  must  ha'  left 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  81 

it  off  too  long,  an'  the  sun  took  effec'  on  de  rice  w'en  'e  was 
sproutin'." 

The  result,  however,  is  the  same.  In  the  three  fields  of 
rented  rice  the  stand  is  so  poor,  they  tell  me,  as  scarcely  to 
warrant  cultivation  further.  The  hands,  to  begin  with,  I 
am  told,  carried  home  to  eat  much  more  than  half  of  the  rice 
given  them  to  plant.  They  always  take  home  a  goodly  por- 
tion on  the  principle  that  a  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in 
the  bush ;  but  on  this  occasion,  as  it  was  mill-threshed  rice 
and  was  not  coming  anyway,  and  I  was  safely  away  in  Wash- 
ington, they  scarcely  put  any  in  the  ground. 

Thoroughly  disheartened,  I  got  into  the  wagon  and  drove 
to  Peaceville,  the  little  pineland  settlement,  just  as  the  night 
fell.  The  dogs  give  me  a  joyful,  noisy  welcome  and  Chloe 
seems  overjoyed  to  see  me,  while  little  Imp  shows  every  white 
tooth  in  his  head  and  his  black  face  beams  with  joy.  Chloe 
has  a  delicious  supper  for  me,  to  which  I  do  full  justice,  not 
having  eaten  anything  since  breakfast,  at  6  :  30.  The  bunga- 
low is  very  comfortable,  though  not  much  for  beauty  —  the 
servants  have  moved  all  my  belongings  from  the  plantation 
while  I  was  away,  and  I  find  everything  I  need  except  my 
piano  and  my  books.  The  piano  could  not  be  moved  because 
Jim  has  had  the  team  in  the  plough  every  day.  They  have 
done  very  well,  however,  for  the  piazza  is  filled  with  blooming 
plants,  and  the  house  looks  clean  and  cool  in  its  fresh  white 
wash.  The  pineland  is  noted  for  its  pleasant  nights,  and  I 
woke  refreshed  in  the  morning,  but  to  find  I  had  taken  a 
terrible    cold  in   my  homeward    progress    on    the    river,   I 

suppose. 

Wednesday,  June  15. 

I  drove  down  to  Casa  Bianca  to-day  to  see  how  the  rice 
looked  and  to  give  orders  for  the  bringing  up  of  mutton 
weekly.  I  have  been  so  entreated  to  furnish  the  village 
with  mutton  weekly  again  this  summer  that  I  have  con- 

G 


82  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

sented  to  do  it,  though  it  is  quite  an  undertaking  to  have  it 
brought  up  the  twelve  miles  regularly  and  early  enough  in 
the  morning.  Marcus  met  me  with  a  very  solemn  face,  and 
when  I  said  in  my  cheeriest  voice,  "How  is  everything, 
Marcus?"  he  took  off  his  hat,  made  a  low  bow,  and  said  :  — 

"Miss,  I  have  very  bad  news  to-day." 

"Oh,  Marcus,  what  has  happened?  Is  Rubin  dead?" 
Rubin  is  a  very  beautiful  bull,  the  pride  of  the  place.  Very 
slowly  and  with  great  dramatic  effect  Marcus  answered  :  "  No, 
ma'am,  but  the  crop  is  ruin',  all  the  rice  is  gone  !"  "Im- 
possible," I  cried,  "it  was  so  fine  the  last  time  I  was  here." 

"Yes,  ma'am,  but  Sunday  dey  come  a  sea  tide,  what  just 
sweep  over  the  bank  an'  'e  bin  on  de  rice  till  now ;  de  watah 
bin  a  foot  deep  on  all  de  rice,  an'  salt,  ma'am,  salt  like  'e'll 
do  for  cook  with,  en  to-day  fu'  de  first  'e  begin  for  drop,  en 
I  giv'  yu'  my  word,  ma'am,  in  my  fiel'  de  rice  yu'  kin  see 
on  de  hill  is  red,  same  as  red  flannel !  You  kin  come  en  see 
fu  yuself,  ma'am,  down  as  far  as  de  bridge,  for  you  kyant  walk 
on  de  bank,  'e  too  wet." 

I  went  and  saw  that  the  entire  place  was  flooded  and  that 
the  hills  as  they  peeped  out,  here  and  there,  had  a  reddish  hue, 
instead  of  the  vivid  green  of  healthy  rice. 

What  a  disaster  !  A  bolt  out  of  a  clear  sky.  If  Marcus 
is  right,  it  means  ruin,  and  up  to  this  time  the  rice  was  splen- 
did. Of  course,  if  salt  water  has  covered  the  rice  since  Sun- 
day there  can  be  no  hope  except  for  the  June  rice,  60  acres, 
which  was  still  under  the  sprout  water,  which  the  sea  tide 
only  diluted,  and  so  it  may  escape.  Marcus  was  so  thor- 
oughly cast  down  that  I  had  to  cheer  him,  and  searched  my 
brain  for  grains  of  comfort  for  him,  until  by  dint  of  effort  I 
became  quite  cheerful  myself,  in  spite  of  the  very  black  out- 
look. I  made  him  taste  the  river  water  and  he  reported  it 
still  salt. 

I  stopped  at  Cherokee  on  the  way  home  and  saw  the  corn 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  83 

and  cotton,  and  they  are  beautiful  and  do  Jim  great  credit, 
for  it  is  only  by  the  constant  stirring  of  the  land  with  plough 
and  cultivator  that  the  crop  has  not  suffered  from  the  six- 
weeks  drought.  The  oats  are  being  cut,  much  injured  by  the 
drought,  having  made  no  growth  and  the  grain  not  having 

filled  out. 

Tuesday,  June  21. 

Gave  orders  yesterday  for  the  threshing  of  the  oats  to-day. 
The  engineer  fired  up  at  daylight  and  had  a  fine  head  of  steam 
on  when  the  hands  assembled,  but  Bonaparte  looked  at  the 
sky  and  said  he  thought  the  day  was  too  "treatish  to  trash" 
and  sent  the  hands  away,  at  least  a  quarter  cord  of  light  wood 
having  been  wasted,  besides  the  engineer's  time  and  the  waste 
of  the  hands'  time,  and,  worst  of  all,  the  losing  of  the  day 
when  there  is  so  much  work  needed.  It  did  not  rain  at  all, 
and  even  if  it  had  rained  there  would  have  been  no  harm 
done,  for  I  had  purposely  had  the  oats  hauled  into  the  mill 
the  day  before,  so  that  in  case  of  rain  they  could  still  thresh. 
When  I  drove  down,  expecting  to  find  things  in  full  blast, 
I  was  very  much  provoked.  I  just  had  to  leave,  for  there  is 
no  use  to  give  vent  to  one's  wrath.  I  told  them  to  thresh 
to-morrow  without  regarding  the  weather. 

June  22. 

Went  in  to  find  threshing  successfully  accomplished  ;  they 
got  through  quite  early,  so  I  determined  to  let  them  finish 
out  their  day  by  moving  the  piano.  The  oats  made  twenty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  which  is  more  than  I  thought  possible. 
No  one  in  a  city  has  any  idea  what  the  moving  of  a  piano  is. 
I  always  feel  as  though  I  were  personally  lifting  and  handling 
it,  so  entirely  is  the  responsibility  on  my  shoulders.  My 
upright  piano  is  my  most  cherished  possession,  companion, 
and  friend,  and  I  am  always  nervous  over  the  perils  of  its 
four-mile  drive  from  plantation  to  summer  house. 

A  small  mattress  is  put  in  the  plantation  wagon  —  I  have 


84 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


no  spring  wagon  —  and  on  that  the  piano  is  put  and  steadied 
by  two  men  while  it  is  slowly  driven  out.  It  always  takes 
eight  men,  as  they  are  not  accustomed  to  lifting,  and  they 
make  a  great  ado  over  it.  Just  as  the  piano  was  lifted  out 
of  the  wagon  up  the  rather  high  steps  on  to  the  piazza  at 
the  pineland,  they  set  it  down  at  the  head  of  the  steps,  and 
gave  it  a  great  push  to  roll  it  toward  the  sitting  room  door, 
there  came  a  tremendous  crash.  The  piazza  had  fallen  in 
on  the  side  toward  the  house.  Fortunately  there  were  no 
men  in  front  of  the  piano ;  they  were  all  behind.     I  was 


'<%&**. 


'z&m 


The  back  steps  to  the  pineland  house. 

standing  very  near  and  called  to  them  to  hold  on  to  it  a 
moment.  I  had  two  heavy  planks  brought  and  put  as  a 
bridge  from  the  place  where  the  piano  rested  into  the  door, 
and  as  soon  as  they  got  the  front  rollers  on  the  plank  all  dan- 
ger was  over,  but  for  a  time  it  looked  as  if  there  must  be  a 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  85 

terrible  smashup.  I  sent  one  of  the  men  under  the  house  to 
see  what  had  caused  the  crash.  He  reported  it  was  the  giving 
way  of  one  of  the  blocks,  which  was  so  rotten  it  had  crumbled 
away.  "Why,  Bonaparte,  I  sent  you  to  examine  the  founda- 
tion of  this  house  and  see  if  any  repairs  were  needed,  and  you 
said  it  was  all  in  order."  Bonaparte  only  murmured  apolo- 
getically that  he  was  too  busy  to  see  about  such  small  matters. 

I  am  very  thankful  no  one  was  hurt,  and  the  dear  piano  is 
safely  installed.  It  is  a  small  Steinway  upright  and  is  very 
nearly  human  in  its  companionship.  This  is  the  sixth  Stein- 
way I  have  had,  I  believe,  having  never  owned  any  other. 
I  watch  its  health  with  desperate  anxiety,  for  it  will  have  to 
last  me  to  the  end,  unless  something  wonderful  happens  to 
revive  rice.  I  have  been  at  the  piano  all  evening  and  it  is 
now  1  o'clock  and  I  am  too  much  excited  to  go  to  bed,  and 
that  is  why  I  am  writing. 

An  unknown  friend  sent  me  two  years  ago  two  volumes 
of  Russian  music  that  I  find  fascinating.  A  cradle  song  by 
Karganoff  and  a  prelude  by  Rachmaninoff  especially  possess 
me.  When  I  play  that  Berceuse  I  feel  myself  the  Russian 
peasant  clasping  her  child,  with  intense  strained  nerves, 
always  alert,  in  spite  of  the  soothing,  delicious  melody  she 
sings  and  the  reassuring  loving  reiterations  of  promised  safety. 
The  prelude  is  tremendous,  foreshadowing  awful  depths  of 
pain,  endless  struggle  through  distress  and  discord,  up,  up, 
creeping  to  a  final  chord  of  perfect  harmony,  but  a  minor 
chord.  If  I  were  asked  for  what  I  was  most  thankful  in  my 
possessions  I  should  say  my  power  of  enjoyment.  Here 
entirely  alone,  with  never  any  audience  —  and  in  some 
measure  because  of  that  —  these  things  can  fill  me  with  such 
intense  pleasure  that  it  is  like  being  on  a  mountain  top  with 
the  heavens  opening  in  a  glorious  sunset,  revealing  to  the 
panting  soul  the  inner  Court  of  the  Beyond. 

I  remember  when  taking  a  singing  lesson  as  a  girl  being  so 


86  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

overcome  by  my  inability  to  express  what  the  music  said  to 
me  that  I  broke  down  and  was  reduced  to  tears  and  said  : 
"Oh,  Mr.  Toiriani,  there  is  no  use  for  me  to  go  on  :  I  have 
no  voice  and  it  is  useless."  He  turned  fiercely  upon  me  and 
said:  "Voice  —  what  does  that  matter?  You  must  go  on. 
Vous  avez  le  feu  sacre."  As  I  used  my  handkerchief  vio- 
lently in  my  effort  to  suppress  the  sobs  that  would  come,  it 
seemed  to  me  a  poor  consolation,  for  if  the  said  fire  found  no 
outlet  it  must  consume  and  not  illuminate ;  but  I  dared  not 
answer,  only  struggled  for  composure  to  go  on  with  "Buona 
notte,  buon  dormir"  in  a  feeble,  quavering,  high  soprano. 
But  I  often  think  now  I  understand  more  what  he  meant. 
One  is  independent  of  outside  things ;  there  is  a  warmth 
and  a  glow  and  a  depth  that  fills  and  satisfies,  irrespective 
of  results  and  externals. 

July  3. 

I  paid  off  this  afternoon,  as  the  Fourth  of  July  is  the  day 
of  all  days  the  negroes  celebrate.  It  was  always  so  before  the 
war.     Every  creature  has  to  be  finely  dressed. 

Chloe  came  in  yesterday  in  great  excitement  to  say  Miss 
Penelope  had  opened  a  big  box  of  the  most  beautiful  hats  and 
she  wanted  the  money  to  buy  one,  "Quarter  of  a  dollar  and 
10  cents."  I  exclaimed  at  the  cheapness,  but  when  she  re- 
turned and  showed  me  a  very  large,  black  straw  trimmed 
with  a  wealth  of  black  and  white  veiling  and  a  huge  purple 
orchid  on  top  I  was  still  more  filled  with  wonder  how  it  is 
possible. 

Chloe  is  perfectly  happy.  The  cloud  which  has  hung  over 
her  for  the  last  week  is  dispelled  by  the  consciousness  that 
she  is  suitably  provided  to  celebrate  the  country's  birthday. 

July  6. 
On  Sunday  sent  word  to  all   the  Cherokee  hands  that  I 
wanted  them  to  hoe  the  rice  yesterday.     Of  course  no  work 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


87 


is  ever  done  on  the  Fourth.  It  is  a  day  of  general  jubilation 
among  the  darkeys  —  gorgeous  costumes,  little  tables  set 
about  with  ice  cream,  lemonade,  cakes ;  every  kind  of  thing 


~*<^to~ 


"A  very  large  black  hat." 


hV. 


:/.  „ 


for  sale  —  watermelon  above  all.  Yesterday  morning  there 
were  three  women  in  the  field  and  a  boy  to  hoe  the  rice. 
The  other  hands  sent  word  that  "they  couldn't  work  so  soon 
arter  the  Fourth." 

I  am  anxious  to  get  the  field  hoed  out,  for  besides  its  being 
very  grassy,  I  see  by  the  weather  report  that  the  river  has 
risen  to  18  feet  at  Cheraw  and  is  still  rising,  and  it  is  most 
important  to  get  the  rice  clean  of  grass  and  the  water  put 


88  A    WOMAN  RICH  PLANTER 

over  it  before  that  freshet  water  gets  down  here.  There 
are  12  tenant  houses  on  the  place  with  20  grown  hands 
and  about  6  half  hands  and  numbers  of  children.  These 
people,  by  their  agreement,  are  to  work  for  me  whenever  I 
call  them.  When  I  do  not  need  them  they  are  at  liberty 
to  work  wherever  they  choose,  but  when  I  call  them  they  are 
bound  to  come.  With  this  understanding  they  have  their 
house  free  of  rent  with  an  acre  of  rich  upland,  all  the  wood 
they  need,  winter  and  summer ;  yet  it  is  impossible  to  get 
the  necessary  work  done.  One-half  of  an  acre  is  the  task  for 
a  whole  hand  in  hoeing  rice,  and  the  eleven-acre  field  should 
not  take  more  than  two  days  .at  the  utmost ;  but  at  this  rate 
it  will  take  more  than  a  week,  and  I  am  powerless  to  com- 
mand the  work.  I  pay  in  money  always,  but  they  prefer 
to  make  excuses  of  illness  to  me,  and  slip  off  and  work  for 
my  neighbor  who  pays  in  cards  redeemable  only  in  his  store, 
because  it  is  done  on  the  sly  and  in  opposition  to  my  author- 
ity —  in  other  words,  that  is  freedom. 

Who  could  succeed  with  such  a  state  of  things  in  any  busi- 
ness ?  I  am  so  discouraged.  I  do  not  see  where  it  is  to  end. 
This  fertile  soil  must  just  grow  up  in  weeds  and  go  to  waste, 
because,  forsooth,  life  is  too  easy  here.  Why  work  when  one 
can  live  without  ?  Why  carry  out  a  contract  when  one  can 
wriggle  out  of  it  as  a  snake  does  from  the  effort  to  hold  him 
with  a  forked  stick,  and  go  and  bask  in  the  sun  and  satisfy 
the  elemental  needs  as  the  snake  does  ? 

Jim  came  in  to-night,  having  done  a  fine  day's  ploughing, 
but  very  angry  because  he  had  spent  his  midday  hours  chas- 
ing three  negro  pigs  through  the  corn-field.  He  says  they 
are  in  the  field  every  day  doing  great  damage,  and  he  can- 
not find  any  hole  in  the  fence  where  they  could  get  in.  My 
own  twenty-five  pigs  are  kept  confined  in  a  crawl  or  pen  for 
fear  of  their  getting  into  the  corn,  and  these  robber  pigs  are 
fattening  on  it.     I  very  much  fear  some  one  in  an  unseen 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  89 

moment  turns  them  in  the  gate,  for  they  belong  to  people 
living  on  the  place. 

I  am  broadcasting  peas  on  the  field  from  which  the  oats 
were  cut,  and  these  pigs  are  eating  them  before  they  can  be 
ploughed  under.  I  cannot  bear  to  order  the  pigs  shot,  but 
suppose  I  will  have  to  do  it.  Things  have  never  been  so  bad 
as  this  before.  There  is  some  influence  under  the  surface 
of  which  I  know  nothing.  God  only  knows  how  it  is  to 
end,  and  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  feel  that  He  does  know 
everything  and  never  fails  them  that  trust  Him. 

July  16. 

Our  rector  came  to  us  for  service  to-day,  and  we  had  an 
excellent  sermon  from  him.  To-night  all  the  neighbors  as- 
sembled at  my  house,  as  usual  on  Sunday  evenings,  for  sacred 
music.  It  always  moves  me  to  see  the  delight  every  one 
takes  in  this  very  simple  way  of  passing  the  evening  —  men, 
women,  and  children  are  equally  enthusiastic.  I  tried  having 
the  children  in  the  afternoon,  but  they  did  not  enjoy  it  as 
much,  so  they  all  come  at  8  and  sing  until  10,  and  then  home 
to  their  night's  rest. 

July  17. 

I  was  scarcely  able  to  get  back  from  Cherokee  to-day,  so 
exhausted  was  I.  Ever  since  I  came  home  I  have  been  rising 
at  6  and  going  into  the  plantation  very  early,  attending  to 
my  work,  and  getting  back  to  the  pineland  between  12  and 
1  —  a  rag  in  every  way.  I  am  so  much  the  worse  for  wear 
that  I  shall  have  to  give  up  for  a  while ;  as  most  of  the  impor- 
tant work  is  over  it  will  not  matter  so  much.  Have  had 
great  trouble  about  the  wood  again  —  but  will  not  go  over  it. 

July  18. 
Too  unwell  to  go  out,  so  have  spent  the  day  in  the  hammock, 
reading  with  great  delight  Mrs.   Gillespie's  "Book  of  Re- 
membrance."    What  a  great  thing  for  a  woman  like  that  to 


90  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

leave  such  a  record  behind  her!  How  I  wish  all  the  great 
women  who  have  passed  out  of  our  sight  and  hearing  could 
have  done  the  same ;  it  would  be  an  inspiration  and  help  to 
the  poor  things  growing  up,  with  their  confused  ideals. 

July  19. 

As  I  was  still  too  weak  to  go  out  this  morning,  and  the  mer- 
cury was  94  degrees,  I  sent  Chloe  in  to  the  plantation,  driven 
by  the  Imp.  With  the  big  umbrella  over  her  she  was  most 
comfortably  arranged,  and  I  told  her  not  to  hurry  back,  as 
Gerty  could  cook  what  little  I  needed.  For  some  reason  the 
trip  went  against  her,  and  she  came  back  in  a  very  bad  frame 
of  mind.  She  said  some  one  had  jeered  her  on  the  road,  and 
said  she  had  given  up  the  job  of  cooking  to  Gerty,  and  that 
I  must  want  to  kill  her  to  send  her  out  in  such  heat. 

I  really  am  mystified,  for  I  have  gone  in  every  day  since 
June  7,  and  many  days  have  been  hotter  than  this.  Last 
summer  very  often  Chloe  walked  in  to  the  plantation  and  saw 
after  things  in  the  garden,  and  walked  back,  in  spite  of  re- 
monstrance on  my  part.  I  wish  I  knew  who  had  jeered  her, 
but  I  really  cannot  bring  myself  to  ask.  Better  just  to  let 
her  alone  until  she  recovers  her  equanimity,  but  it  is  trying 
when  I  am  feeling  so  below  par.  I  certainly  shall  not  send 
her  again. 

July  30. 

Rose  at  6  and  went  into  the  plantation  soon  after  7, 
and  got  through  my  work  very  comfortably,  though  the  ther- 
mometer was  96  degrees  when  I  got  back. 

Am  reading  Sir  Walter  Besant's  autobiography  with  in- 
terest. While  I  was  in  Washington  some  one  gave  me  a 
list  of  books  from  the  Philadelphia  bookstore,  and  the  re- 
duced prices  have  made  it  a  blessing.  I  have  been  able 
to  get  books  otherwise  entirely  beyond  my  reach,  and  it  is 
such  a  treat. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  91 

I  think  biography  is  the  most  fascinating  and  satisfying 
reading.  I  sent  on  $7,  and  no  one  could  imagine  what  a 
number  of  delightful  books  came  back.  I  positively  gloat 
over  them.     I  have  not  had  such  riches  in  years. 

We  have  a  very  nice  little  book  club  in  Peaceville,  estab- 
lished about  eight  years  ago  by  the  thoughtful  kindness  of 
a  friend,  who  had  visited  me  several  times  and  became  greatly 
interested  in  Peaceville  and  its  "old  time"  atmosphere.  She 
sent  all  the  novels  her  family  had  finished  reading.  And 
her  sister-in-law,  who  lives  at  the  North,  but  was  making  a 
visit  South  and  was  there  when  the  books  were  packed  and 
sent,  subscribed  to  McClure's  for  the  Peaceville  Book  Club, 
and  has  kept  it  up  ever  since  ;  also,  from  time  to  time,  sending 
a  well  chosen  new  book.     It  is  so  very  kind. 

When  the  first  lot  of  books  arrived  I  went  around,  mention- 
ing that  this  donation  had  been  made.  I  said  I  hoped  every 
one  in  the  village  would  join,  and  that  the  membership  would 
be  10  cents.  Every  one  was  roused  and  delighted,  and  there 
was  much  discussion  as  to  where  the  books  should  be  kept. 
Finally  the  postmistress,  who  occupied  a  little  cottage  where 
the  whole  village  assembled  to  chat  while  the  mail  was  being 
divided,  consented  to  keep  the  books.  This  was  an  ideal  ar- 
rangement, and  I  had  a  large  bookcase,  simply  made,  with 
lock  and  key,  and  the  books  were  installed. 

After  a  short  time  two  of  my  dear  friends,  whom  I  had 
thought  of  as  especially  likely  to  enjoy  the  books,  came  to 
me  and  said  they  would  not  be  able  to  join  the  book  club. 
I  wondered,  and  urged  them  to  join,  when  the  mother  said  : 
"We  had  intended  to  join,  for  we  thought  the  fee  was  10 
cents  a  year ;  but  since  hearing  it  is  ten  cents  a  month 
it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  indulge  ourselves  in  that 
pleasure." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "it  is  ten  cents  a  year  and  not  a  month. 
The  person  who  told  you  made  a  mistake  —  "     Then  they 


92  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

said,  "That  is  too  delightful ;  for  we  felt  miserable  at  having 
to  give  it  up." 

Now  the  fee  had  been  merely  in  order  to  give  some  little 
control  over  the  books,  and  I  had  thought  if  it  was  a  monthly 
fee  we  should  be  able  to  get  some  books  every  year  with  the 
fees;  but  as  it  was  established  just  for  these  very  cases,  I 
suddenly  changed  the  plan,  and  10  cents  a  year  it  has  re- 
mained ever  since.  The  kind  friends  have  continued  to  send 
the  novels  they  have  read,  and  some  of  their  friends  in  New 
York  have  sent  boxes  of  magazines,  so  that  the  little  club 
now  has  about  four  hundred  volumes.  Our  dearly  beloved 
postmistress  has  gone  to  join  the  majority,  and  the  little 
cottage  is  closed,  and  the  books  have  been  removed  to  a  shed 
room  in  my  house,  but  there  is  no  estimating  the  pleasure 
they  have  given,  and  still  give,  and  the  weary  hours  they 
have  relieved. 

Every  year  I  get  one  new  book  with  the  fees,  and  this  year, 
thanks  to  the  wonderful  Philadelphia  bookstore,  I  got  three, 
for  novels  are  preferred  at  the  Book  Club. 

When  people  work  hard  and  have  little  pleasure  they  need 
relaxation,  which  means  "Mrs.  Wiggs"  and  "Lovey  Mary" 
and  tales  of  chivalry  and  wonder  and  social  joys,  and  all  the 
things  which  every  one  longs  to  have  for  themselves  and 
their  children.  The  writer  who  can  blot  out  all  the  sordid 
present  and  raise  one  into  a  different  atmosphere  and  keep 
one  there  for  two  hours  is  a  mighty  benefactor. 

August  6. 

I  have  suffered  so  from  heat  that  I  felt  distracted.  Went 
to  the  plantation  most  reluctantly,  but  it  was  a  relief,  for 
it  felt  cooler  driving,  but  poor  Ruth  suffered  greatly.  I  am 
ashamed  to  be  so  knocked  down  by  the  heat ;  my  mind  seems 
addled. 

Bonaparte's  daughter-in-law,  Kiz,  is  very  ill  with  tj^phoid 
fever.     Her  husband  brought  her  to  the  doctor  to-clay  in 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


93 


an  ox  cart.     The  doctor  was  very  angry,  saying  she  was  quite 
too  ill  and  that  he  must  take  her  quickly  home. 

I  had  made  some  jelly  for  her  and  sent  Patty  running  after 
the  ox  cart  with  it.  She  said  Kizzie  was  very  grateful  and 
took  it  all,  saying  it  was  the  nicest  thing  she  had  ever  tasted. 


Her  husband  brought  her  in  an  ox  cart. 

Poor,  poor  soul ;  in  this  heat  —  no  ice,  no  anything  that  she 
should  have  !  I  who  am  quite  well  miss  ice  terribly,  and 
think  of  her  with  that  fever  ! 

I  sent  some  jelly  to  old  Amy,  too.  I  do  not  think  she  can 
recover.  She  is  Patty's  grandmother.  MacDuff  feels  the 
heat  greatly.  The  mercury  has  been  over  90  for  several 
days.  The  colts  both  have  distemper  and  cannot  be  driven 
for  a  long  time. 


CHAPTER   III 

September  3. 

XT  is  time  for  my  harvest  to  begin,  but  for  some  reason  the 
rice  is  ripening  very  slowly,  and  I  fear  the  first  field  at 
Casa  Bianca  will  not  be  ready  to  cut  before  the  14th  of 
this  month.  It  has  never  quite  recovered  from  the  salt  water 
and  is  not  as  fine  as  last  year.  At  Cherokee  one  field  of  rice 
is  very  fine,  the  other  not  very  good ;  but  the  corn  is  of  the 
best,  and  so  are  the  peas.  A  splendid  crop.  In  July  I  took 
up  thirty  acres  of  very  well-drained  land,  enclosed  it  with 
an  American  wire  fence,  and  planted  some  of  it  in  cow-peas 
preparatory  to  planting  alfalfa  this  autumn.  The  peas  are 
most  luxuriant,  a  solid  mass  of  green  about  two  feet  high. 
They  show  the  benefit  of  the  subsoiling  I  had  done,  for  I 
used  no  fertilizer  of  any  kind  on  the  land.  I  have  gone  to 
great  expense  to  put  this  land  in  good  condition,  for  I  have 
great  hope  of  making  alfalfa  our  money  crop  in  the  future 
—  poor,  dear  rice  seems  to  have  resigned  that"  position. 

September  13. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  from  Indiana  are  staying  with  Mr.  L. 
They  came  to  look  into  the  possibilities  of  this  country  for 
cattle  raising,  Mr.  S.  being  one  of  the  most  successful  and  best- 
known  breeders  of  Hereford  cattle.  He  wishes  to  see  as 
much  of  the  plantations  as  he  can,  so  I  invited  them  to  spend 
the  day  with  me  at  Casa  Bianca,  as  it  is  a  good  natural  pas- 
ture. I  took  down  everything  with  me  for  a  nice  luncheon, 
and  they  seemed  to  enjoy  the  day.  Mr.  S.  said  my  cattle 
were  in  fine  condition,  and  that  the  grass  was  very  good. 

94 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  95 

While  they  amused  themselves  wandering  about  the 
grounds  and  over  the  rambling  old  house  I  went  to  see 
Marcus.  He  told  me  he  had  all  the  hands  he  could  get  mind- 
ing birds  and  picking  grass  out  of  River  Wragg  and  that  he 
had  taken  the  water  off  to-day  as  he  hoped  to  cut  it  day  after 
to-morrow.  After  lunch  when  we  went  out  the  look  of  every- 
thing had  changed  —  it  had  been  a  perfect  morning,  with  little 
white  clouds  flitting  about,  just  making  you  wonder  at  the 
blue  of  the  sky  in  contrast  to  their  airy  whiteness,  but  now 
they  had  heavy  dark  edges  and  they  rushed  heavily  and 
wildly  about,  and  there  was  something  in  the  air  that  made 
one  sniff  a  coming  storm.  Mr.  L.,  who  knew  the  signs  well, 
asked  me  to  have  his  carriage  got,  and  left  at  once,  advising 
me  to  do  the  same ;  but  I  had  some  things  to  attend  to  be- 
fore leaving,  and  so  was  nearly  an  hour  late.  I  told  Marcus 
to  put  the  water  back  on  the  rice  or  it  would  be  whipped  to 
pieces  by  the  wind,  which  was  now  tremendous. 

My  twelve-mile  drive  home  in  an  open  wagon  was  a  race 
with  the  storm,  wildly  exciting  and  exhilarating,  in  spite  of 
the  danger  from  falling  limbs  and  flying  branches.  All  along 
the  way  the  cattle  were  gathered  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
and  my  companion  said  she  had  always  heard  that  was  a  sure 
sign  of  an  approaching  storm ;  ordinarily  they  are  in  the 
woods  and  I  was  greatly  surprised  at  the  number.  I  knew 
the  negroes  owned  a  good  deal  of  cattle,  but  did  not  know 
there  were  such  herds. 

The  horses  were  greatly  excited  and  it  did  not  take  us  long 
to  reach  home.  Though  it  had  rained  all  the  way  it  did  not 
pour,  and  the  wind  being  so  high  seemed  to  blow  the  rain 
away,  and  we  were  very  little  wet. 

The  wind  increased  in  violence  every  hour,  and  now  at 
10  o'clock  it  is  a  terrific  gale.  I  have  been  all  over  the  house 
examining  windows  and  doors  to  see  that  the  fastenings  are 
secure,  and  am  going  to  bed,  for  I  am  very  tired. 


96  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

September  14. 

The  storm  raged  terribly  all  night ;  sleep  was  impossible. 
The  rafters  creaked  and  groaned,  the  windows  rattled,  the 
house  shook,  the  wind  roared  through  the  pine  trees,  while 
the  cracking  of  limbs  sounded  like  musketry  and  now  and 
then  the  loud  thud  of  a  falling  tree  like  cannon.  These 
sounds  kept  the  ear  and  mind  on  a  prolonged  strain.  In  the 
dawn  of  the  morning  I  looked  out  —  a  gloomy,  dark  sky, 
trees  down  in  every  direction,  not  a  fence  in  sight ;  but  no 
houses  down. 

Later  in  the  day  I  went  forth  to  find  out  how  my  neighbors 
had  fared,  and  found  every  one  so  thankful  to  find  themselves 
and  their  families  alive  and  unhurt  that  every  one  was  cheer- 
ful and  bright.  Most  people  sat  up  all  night  and  all  seemed 
to  have  had  me  much  on  their  minds. 

"Such  a  terrible  night  for  you  to  be  alone  in  the  house; 
we  thought  of  you  constantly."  I  had  been  thinking  with 
such  anxiety  about  people  on  the  islands  and  at  sea  that  I 
did  not  feel  frightened  for  myself ;  but  I  found  the  servants 
had  been  very  anxious  about  me,  and  Jim  had  walked  round 
the  house  several  times,  but  finding  all  still  and  no  light  had 
gone  back  to  the  servants'  hall.  I  hear  of  many  marvellous 
escapes,  houses  falling  and  pinning  people  down,  without  a 
single  death  and  with  little  injury. 

All  the  planters  went  out  very  early  to  the  plantations, 
carrying  axes  to  cut  their  way  along. 

September  15. 

I  rode  to  the  plantation  to-day,  as  the  road  is  impassable 
for  a  vehicle  from  the  village  to  Cherokee.  There  the  storm 
played  havoc ;  the  immense  oak  trees  are  down  in  every  di- 
rection ;  some  uprooted,  some  split  into  several  sections. 
Just  back  of  the  dwelling-house  there  was  a  large  oak  heavily 
draped  with  ivy  that  had  been  snapped  off  in  falling,  narrowly 
escaping  the  house.     Two  other  very  large  oaks  to  the  north- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  97 

east  of  the  house  are  down ;  they  evidently  broke  the  force 
of  the  wind  on  the  house,  which  is  not  injured  at  all.  The 
earth  is  strewn  with  gray  moss  and  small  green  twigs  and 
leaves,  so  that  it  looks  like  a  huge  gray  and  green  carpet. 

A  two-story  barn  is  down  at  the  barn-yard,  also  another 
building,  and  the  screw  is  badly  twisted  and  in  a  falling 
condition.  The  corn,  which  was  so  fine,  has  been  torn  and 
tangled,  and  a  great  deal  is  lying  on  the  ground  partially 
buried  in  the  mud,  the  heavy  beating  rain  having  left  the 
fields  almost  boggy.  I  sent  all  hands  to  gather  up  the  fallen 
ears ;  in  the  barn  I  had  them  shucked  and  spread  over  the 
floor  to  dry.  At  the  point  of  nearly  every  ear  the  corn  is 
sprouting.  Of  the  cow-peas  about  ten  acres  are  ruined ; 
they  were  loaded  with  pods  almost  ready  to  pick,  and  they 
have  been  stripped  of  leaves  and  fruit  and  are  only  bare 
stems.  I  have  never  seen  a  storm  so  thorough  in  its  work 
and  so  minute  in  its  attention  to  detail. 

I  always  try  to  see  the  grain  of  comfort  in  every  misfor- 
tune, and  find  it  now  in  the  thought  of  the  profit  to  the  land 
in  that  heavy  mulch  of  pea-vine  leaves  and  pods ;  meantime 
I  will  not  make  seed.  Fortunately  my  alfalfa  peas  were 
younger  and  in  a  sheltered  situation,  and  have  not  been  at 
all  hurt.  I  had  not  heard  from  Casa  Bianca  until  to-night, 
and  the  same  tale  of  destruction  and  desolation  comes  from 
there,  but  there  has  been  no  loss  of  life.  I  was  so  afraid  some 
of  the  negro  houses  might  have  fallen  and  hurt  some  one, 
for  they  are  very  old.     There  is  not  a  fence  standing,  and  the 

demand  for  nails  is  great. 

September  17. 

This  morning  old  Maum  Mary  came  to  bring  me  a  present 
of  sweet  potatoes,  indicating  that  she  was  in  great  need  of 
nails  ;  so  I  made  her  a  present  of  some  nails  and  also  a  piece 
of  money.  She  and  old  Tom  live  on  a  little  farm  of  their 
own,  where  they  plant  a  field  of  corn,  a  patch  of  rice,  a  patch 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


of  cotton,  and  one  of  tobacco.  They  raise  three  or  four  hogs 
every  year  and  have  a  cow.  In  addition  to  these  they  have  a 
most  prolific  pear  tree  and  a  very  large  scuppernong  grape- 


^>fc£ 


"  Old  Maum  Mary  came  to  bring  me  a  present  of  sweet  potatoes." 


vine,  and  the  sale  of  their  fruit  brings  them  in  a  nice  little 
income. 

After  the  interchange  of  presents  had  been  made  and  she 
had  eaten  the  plate  of  meat  and  bread  and  drained  the  cup 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  99 

of  coffee  which  I  brought  her,  her  tongue  was  loosed,  and  she 
said:  — 

"  Yes,  my  missus,  I  neber  see  sech  a  judgment  on  de  tree  ! 
De  big  pine  'ood  is  lebel  down,  en  I  had  to  climb  for  get  yuh, 
but  I  ain't  hab  a  nail,  en  de  fench  bin  down,  en  me  tetta,  en 
me  little  crap  o'  corn  bin  dey  open,  en  ef  de  Lawd  didn't  bin 
dat  mussiful  dat  night  en  confuse  de  critter  mind,  all  'ood 
a  gone.  Yes,  my  missus,  eberybody  fench  bin  down,  but  not 
a  cow  nor  a  hog  ain't  eat  nothing.  Ain't  yer  see  ?  De 
Lawd  confuse  dem  mind  to  dat ;  Him  is  mussiful  f er  true. 
Dat  night,  my  missus,  de  house  shake  en  rock  so,  tell  me  en 
Tom  git  up  en  set  down  by  de  fiah,  en  we  pray,  en  we  pray, 
but  de  fiah  cu'dn't  burn,  kase  de  rain  po'  down  de  chimbly. 
We  de  pray,  en  de  house  de  rock  en  de  shingle  de  fly,  bam  clis 
way,  en  bam  dat  way,  en  Tom  cry  out  en  'e  say,  'Yes,  my 
Lawd,  we  is  sinna  fo'  tru,  but  spare  we  dis  time/  en  den  I 
teck  up  de  disco'se  en  I  say,  '  Lawd,  I  know  I  is  wicked,  but 
gi'  me  anoder  chanst.'  En  de  wahter  gone  through  de  house, 
en  de  shed  blow  off,  en  de  wedder-boa'cl  blow  off,  en  de  tree 
all  round  de  crack  en  de  fall,  en,  my  missus,  w'en  de  mann- 
ing come  I  was  susprise  w'en  I  see  Tom  de  day,  en  me  de  day, 
en  cle  house  de  day,  en  I  hoi'  up  my  han'  en  I  cry,  '  My  Lawd, 
yer  is  too  mussiful,  yo'  jes'  trow  clown  de  boa'd  en  de  shingle, 
now  ef  dat  bin  a  man,  strong  like  a  you,  him  'ood  a  throw 
down  de  hoi'  house.'  Yes,  ma'am,  I'se  tankful  to  de  Lawd," 
and  with  a  deep  courtesy  she  went  to  mend  her  fence. 

September  20. 

Harvest  is  going  on  at  Casa  Bianca  —  the  much-tried 
River  Wragg  field  is  being  loaded  into  the  flats,  in  spite  of  its 
being  soaked  in  salt  water  in  July  and  swept  by  the  gale  last 
Tuesday.  I  cannot  help  hoping  it  may  make  something, 
it  looks  so  pretty  and  golden  as  it  is  being  "toted"  into  the 
flat.     The  night  of  the  gale  I  thought  it  would  be  completely 


100  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

destroyed,  because  it  was  dry,  but  a  tremendous  tide  rushed 
over  the  banks  and  topped  the  rice,  thereby  saving  it  from 
complete  destruction.  The  June  rice,  however,  fifty  acres 
of  which  was  very  fine,  has  been  greatly  injured  by  the  top- 
ping tide,  for  it  seems  the  water  was  brackish,  and  the  rice 
was  just  in  milk.  Marcus  was  bragging  about  this  rice, 
and  my  hopes  were  high,  but  now  he  shakes  his  head  and 
looks  solemn. 

Some  years  ago  a  lady  in  Saratoga  said  to  me  :  "The  Lord 
does  not  seem  to  have  much  respect  for  you  rice  planters." 
I  answered:  "I  think  Job's  friends  and  acquaintances  said 
the  same  thing  to  him." 

Certainly  it  behooves  us  to  imitate  that  worthy's  patient 
endurance  of  the  calamities  which  fell  so  thick  upon  him  for 
years,  and  his  firm  faith  in  his  Maker. 

In  the  Old  Testament  the  promise  of  worldly  prosperity 
as  a  reward  of  obedience  to  God's  law  was  very  distinct,  but 
in  the  New  Testament  it  is  different  —  sorrow,  adversity, 
tribulation,  are  mentioned,  and  the  promise  is  of  peace  within, 
of  power  to  be  undismayed  by  seeming  disaster,  strong  in 
the  faith  that  He  doeth  all  things  well. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 

His  wonders  to  perform, 
He  plants  his  footsteps  on  the  sea 

And  rides  upon  the  storm. 

Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 

But  trust  him  for  his  grace ; 
Behind  a  frowning  providence 

He  hides  a  smiling  face. 

Several  of  my  friends  in  the  village  are  ill,  and  fresh  milk 
is  much  needed ;  so  I  waited  till  after  sunset,  when  Gibbie 
had  finished  milking,  to  take  the  fresh  milk  with  me.  It  was 
so  little  that  after  sending  out  three  little  pitchers  there 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  101 

was  none  left  for  myself.  Gibbie  is  doing  his  best  to  dry 
up  the  cows;  this  was  the  last  trial. 

In  the  morning  I  found  Eva  had  not  come  out  to  do  the 
work  I  had  pointed  out  to  her,  and  I  went  out  to  the  street, 
meaning  to  go  to  her  house  and  see  what  was  the  matter. 

I  found  no  gate  to  her  large  enclosure  and  could  not  get  in, 
so  went  to  Gibbie's  house  to  ask  the  way.     It  was  about 

II  o'clock  and  Gibbie  was  supposed  to  be  at  work.  Saw  the 
children  and  asked  for  their  mother,  but  they  did  not  seem 
to  understand,  but  when  I  repeated  my  question  the  little 
one  answered :  — 

"Pa  dey  een  'e  baid." 

I  looked  through  the  door  and  there  was  Gibbie  fast  asleep 
across  the  bed.  I  went  in  and  poked  him  with  my  parasol, 
but  he  did  not  wake,  so  I  left  the  house  feeling  hopeless  — 
how  can  any  work  be  done  with  this  going  on  ! 

As  I  went  through  his  yard  I  met  his  wife  carrying  a  burn- 
ing coal  between  two  sticks.  She  had  been  over  to  a  neigh- 
bor's, as  she  said,  "to  ketch  hah  fo'  cook  Gibbie  bittle." 
She  directed  me  to  her  mother-in-law's  house  through  a 
labyrinth  of  fences  and  gates. 

I  was  much  interested,  for  it  is  just  what  Stanley  describes 
in  "Darkest  Africa,"  a  system  of  passages  of  stockades, 
making  hasty  entrance  impossible  and  so  guarding  against 
surprise ;  any  one  finding  his  way  through  must  be  seen  by 
the  inmates  before  reaching  the  innermost  barrier.  I  wound 
my  way  through  a  field  of  splendid  potatoes,  then  through 
one  of  peas,  then  into  a  field  of  splendid  corn  with  peas  run- 
ning to  the  top  of  the  stalks  loaded  with  pods  seven  and 
eight  inches  long. 

I  went  into  the  house,  where  Nobby,  Eva's  youngest 
son,  a  youth  of  18,  was  sitting  contemplating  a  big  sheet 
packed  with  peas  which  lay  on  the  floor.  I  asked  where  his 
mother  was.     He  said  in  the  field  behind  the  house.     He  re- 


102 


Jll.it,   /<,f\.5m.v.  th. 


"  Pa  dey  een  'e  baid." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  103 

mained  sitting  while  I  went  round  the  house,  where  grew 
luxuriant  tomato  plants  loaded  with  fruit  and  very  tall 
okra,  and  on  to  another  fine  potato  patch,  where  there  were 
also  peas,  which  Eva  was  picking. 

She  was  much  startled  at  seeing  me.  When  I  asked  her 
why  she  had  not  come  to  work  as  she  promised  she  hesitated 
and  stammered,  then  said  that  the  cow  broke  her  fence  and 
she  had  to  stay  home  to  mend  it. 

"Surely  that  big  idle  boy  Nobby  could  mend  the  fence," 
I  said. 

The  fence  showed  no  sign  of  damage,  and  I  knew  she  had 
just  preferred  to  stay  at  home.  I  spoke  severely  and  told 
her  to  come  to-morrow  and  do  the  work.  She  has  in  all 
about  ten  acres  with  her  house,  and  her  agreement  is  to  give 
me  one  day's  work  every  week  as  rent,  and  she  cannot  make 
up  her  mind  to  do  that  if  she  can  possibly  escape  it. 

My  only  consolation  was  the  extreme  abundance  and 
comfort  of  everything  and  the  cleanliness  of  the  houses  and 
the  children,  but  that  is  a  great  comfort  to  me. 

I  have  made  myself  a  beautiful  big  blue  denim  apron 
turned  up  about  twenty  inches,  so  that  when  I  go  in  the 
field  to  get  rid  of  the  cockspurs  and  see  the  work  I  need  not 
be  idle. 

My  field  of  pea-vine  hay  is  beautiful,  but  it  was  so  badly 
ploughed  that  here  and  there  cockspurs  were  not  turned 
under  and  they  would  ruin  the  whole  field.  I  have  paid  a 
woman  twice  to  go  through  the  field  and  pull  out  the  plants 
before  the  fatal  little  burr  was  hard.  I  went  through  it  my- 
self some  time  ago  and  found  that  she  had  only  broken  off 
the  heads  and  left  the  roots,  all  there  to  spring  again. 

I  pulled  out  quite  a  number,  and  to-day  called  Dab  to 
go  into  the  field  with  me  to  pull  them.  If  only  I  had  told 
him  to  bring  a  hoe  the  day  would  have  been  saved.  In 
order  to  get  to  the  field  by  the  shortest  way  I  had  to  pass 


104  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

through  a  low  spot  in  the  corn-field  which  was  grown  up  with 
weeds  dense  and  as  tall  as  my  head.  The  ox  cart  had  made 
a  track  in  the  midst,  where  its  wheels  had  mashed  the  weeds, 
from  the  barn-yard.  I  was  about  fifty  feet  in  front  of  Dab, 
lifting  my  foot  very  high  at  each  step  and  going  very  slowly, 
with  eyes  everywhere,  when  six  feet  in  front  of  me  I  saw  a 
heart  curdling  sight  —  a  moccasin  so  enormous  that  I  could 
not  believe  my  eyes. 

He  lay  with  his  tail  a  foot  beyond  the  wheel  tracks  on  one 
side  and  his  awful  head  a  foot  beyond  on  the  other  !  I  called 
as  softly  as  I  could  to  Dab,  who  was  just  opening  the  gate, 
"Bring  a  strong  stick  quickly  to  kill  this  snake  !" 

Dab  called  aloud  in  his  most  educated  tone,  which  he  very 
seldom  uses,  "A  snake,  eh?  What  kind  of  a  snake?  A  big 
snake,  eh?" 

"Come  at  once,  Dab,  with  a  strong  stick!"  I  said  in 
anything  but  a  conversational  tone,  but  Dab  continued  to 
discourse  and  ejaculate,  and  before  I  could  get  him  to  take 
a  lath  from  an  old  gate  near  which  he  stood  the  monster, 
who  had  listened  to  everything,  slowly  moved  into  the  thick 
bushes  and  was  gone. 

There  I  stood,  afraid  to  move  one  way  or  the  other.  I  do 
not  remember  ever  to  have  been  so  thoroughly  demoralized 
since  I  was  a  child.  When  Dab  came  up  even  the  tail  was 
out  of  sight.  I  hate  to  think  it,  but  it  almost  seemed  as  if 
Dab  had  dallied  and  waited  until  he  was  sure  it  had  gone, 
for  I  kept  crying,  "Come  quickly,  it  is  beginning  to  move  ! 
Oh,  Dab,  come  on,  it  will  get  away  !  It  is  going  !"  and  not 
until  I  cried  in  despair,  "Now  it  is  gone  !"  did  he  come  for- 
ward with  great  boldness,  a  splendid  lightwood  stake  in  his 
hand  with  which  the  snake  could  easily  have  been  killed 
while  it  was  in  sight.  I  would  not  let  him  pursue  it  into  the 
high  growth. 

I  sent  him  back  to  the  house  for  a  hoe,  and  while  he  was 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  105 

gone  I  stood  there  battling  with  myself.  I  could  not  bear 
to  go  on  through  that  tall,  dense  growth  of  grass  and 
weeds  with  this  terrible  thing  somewhere,  but  I  said  to  my- 
self:  "You  have  never  let  fear  turn  you  back  from  an  un- 
dertaking in  your  latter  life ;  are  you  going  to  turn  craven 
now  ?  If  you  do  you  will  be  miserable ;  your  life  is  beset 
by  many  dangers  ;  once  let  fear  get  the  upper  hand  and  your 
composure  and  peace  of  mind  are  gone." 

So  I  argued  and  reasoned  and  fought  with  myself,  and  by 
the  time  Dab  came,  it  was  easy  to  go  on.  I  took  the  hoe 
from  him  and  cleaned  a  space  of  weeds  in  the  direction  the 
snake  had  taken,  and  when  I  had  showed  him  that  I  was  not 
afraid  to  do  it  and  how  I  wished  it  done  he  took  the  hoe  and 
very  gingerly  chopped  down  the  growth  toward  the  vegetable 
garden,  for  I  feared  very  much  that  the  monster  should  es- 
tablish itself  in  there.  I  kept  behind  him,  encouraging  him 
on,  when  he  gave  a  shriek  and  cried  :  — • 

"Der  de  snake  now."  No  educated  tone  now.  He  cried 
aloud  "de  snake,  cle  sing." 

I  tried  my  best  to  see  the  snake,  but  could  not.  He  is  a 
little  taller  than  I  am  and  could  see  over  the  bushes. 

"You  must  kill  it,  Dab  !"  I  said.  "If  you  do  not  it  may 
bite  you  some  day  when  you  go  to  pick  tomatoes.  If  you 
see  it  there  is  no  danger ;  you  can  chop  its  head  off  with 
that  hoe." 

With  much  urging  Dab  lifted  the  hoe  and  struck  once, 
twice,  thrice  and  then  called  out,  "I  got  'm ;   'e  daid  !" 

"Bring  it  out !     Don't  leave  it  in  the  weeds  !"  I  said. 

Dab  lifted  his  hoe  tremulously,  and  there  was  a  small 
ribbon  snake,  a  foot  long  and  one  inch  round  ! 

I  could  not  help  a  burst  of  merriment  over  it  —  and  that 
restored  our  nerves.  Dab  continued  to  declare  that  the 
snake  had  sung,  and  since,  I  have  felt  I  was  very  stupid  not 
to  know  that  the  little  snake's  cry,  if  snakes  ever  do  cry, 


106  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

was  one  of  terror,  and  that  it  was  due  to  the  big  snake  being 
near,  and  that  if  I  had  only  known  it  was  not  the  monster 
Dab  saw,  and  if  I  had  not  let  him  waste  time  on  the  little 
snake  we  might  have  caught  up  with  the  big  fellow,  who  will 
now  remain  a  permanent  terror. 

I  am  going  to  turn  the  horses  in  that  field  and  the  cows,  and 
it  will  be  a  miracle  if  none  of  them  meets  him,  and  then  my 
beautiful  red  setter  will  always  be  in  danger.  However, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  and  I  went  on  through  the  grass 
to  the  hay-field,  walking  very  warily  ahead  with  the  hoe 
lifted,  while  Dab  followed  in  my  wake. 

We  picked  nearly  a  barrelful  of  cockspur  roots  from  the 
field.  I  have  had  an  empty  barrel  put  there  to  receive  them. 
The  peas  are  bearing  well  and  the  grass  is  very  high,  and  it 
will  make  splendid  hay,  but  I  will  not  mow  it  until  I  feel  sure 
there  is  not  a  single  cockspur  left. 

They  are  fatal  to  horses.  So  strong  are  their  little  barbed 
points  that  if  swallowed  they  pierce  the  intestines  and  kill 
the  animal.  There  is  only  one  way  in  which  they  can  be  got 
rid  of,  and  that  is  by  my  all-day  presence  in  the  field,  so  for 
a  week  I  expect  to  give  myself  up  to  it  entirely  —  huge  straw 
hat,  blue  denim  apron,  and  buckskin  gauntlets. 

September  21. 
This  morning  I  went  early  to  Cherokee  and  drove  through 
the  "street"  to  get  some  hands  to  break  in  two  acres  of  corn 
which,  being  very  near  the  road  and  convenient  to  passersby, 
had  better  be  in  the  barn.  At  the  well  I  found  a  picturesque 
group  of  gossiping  matrons.  After  the  usual  civilities,  I 
told  my  errand.  "Becka,  I  want  you,"  I  said  to  one,  a 
splendid  figure,  who  stood  balancing  on  her  head  a  large  tub 
of  water.  She  answered:  "Miss,  I  berry  sorry;  I  ktyant 
possible  cum,  I  got  de  feber  right  now,"  and  she  walked  off 
at  a  swinging  gait.     I  turned  to  an  equally  fine  specimen  of 


A    WOMAN   BICE  PLANTER 


107 


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108  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

health  and  strength  and  said,  "Agnes,  you  will  come?" 
"Miss,  I  too  sorry,  but  mi  baby  got  de  feber ; "  the  said  baby 
looked  as  bright  and  hearty  as  the  mother.  All  through  the 
street  it  was  the  same  thing.  One  elderly  woman,  quite  as 
a  favor,  went  home  and  locked  her  door  and  came.  I  had 
brought  my  house  servants  to  help  and  found  one  or  two 
hands  in  the  barn-yard ;  but  it  took  much  longer  than  it 
should  have  done. 

This  corn  had  been  stolen  in  a  very  clever  way.  About 
a  month  ago  I  went  through  the  field  to  mark  what  I  wished 
kept  for  seed  from  the  stalks  that  had  more  than  one  fine 
ear.  I  found  that  about  every  eighth  stalk  had  two  ears  and 
some  few  had  three  ears  ;  to-day,  when  gathered,  not  a  single 
stalk  had  more  than  one  ear.  In  spite  of  this  and  the  damage 
from  the  storm,  these  two  acres  made  seventy-two  bushels 
of  shelled  corn,  which  is  a  comfort. 

On  the  way  down  I  stopped  at  the  post-office.  While  I 
waited  for  my  stamps  a  negro  drove  up  and  took  from  his 
buggy  two  large  sacks  stuffed  full  of  something ;  each  sack 
held  two  bushels.  To  my  amazement,  when  he  proceeded  to 
empty  the  contents  on  the  ground,  I  found  they  were  rice 
birds  !  I  tried  at  once  to  buy  a  dozen,  but  he  said  they  were 
already  sold,  and  began  to  count  them  out  to  another  negro. 
He  had  got  to  150  dozen  when  I  left  and  had  not  got  through 
with  one  sack.  He  said  he  got  35  cents  a  dozen  for  them. 
I  have  only  had  rice  birds  twice  this  season ;  yet  the  fields 
are  swarming  with  them. 

The  work  of  repairing  the  screw  which  carries  the  rice 
from  threshing  mill  to  shipping  barn  is  nearly  finished.  It 
has  been  very  expensive,  and  my  crop  this  year  does  not  war- 
rant the  expense.  Yet  it  was  dangerous  to  leave  it  hanging 
as  it  was,  and  so  I  was  forced  either  to  pull  it  down,  which 
would  have  been  an  expense,  or  repair  it,  and  I  chose  the 
latter  course. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


109 


Peaceville,  September  23. 

Went  to  Casa  Bianca  to-day,  but  did  not  see  Nat,  though 
he  always  assures  me  that  he  never  leaves  the  place  for  an 
hour.  In  spite  of  the  rough  preparation  of  the  ground  the 
peas  I  had  him  plant  are  splendid. 

I  went  down  especially  to  see  the  spot  I  have  enclosed  in 
wire,  intending  to  try  celery  on  it.  I  gave  Nat  very  special 
directions  about  preparing  the  land, 
but  thought  it  best  to  see  how  he 
would  succeed  before  risking  any 
money  in  plants.  I  told  him  to 
plough  it  once  north  and  south 
very  deep  —  I  was  willing  for 
him  to  do  only  half  an  acre  a 
clay  so  as  to  be  sure  of  its  being 
well  done  —  then  to  harrow  it 
thoroughly  and  after  that  to 
plough  it  east  and  west,  then  to 
harrow  it  every  day  for  a  week,  w 
These  seemed  to  me  clear  and 
sensible  directions,  and  I  gave  him 
as  long  as  he  needed  to  do  the  work,  ^ 
not  hurrying  him. 

When  I  saw  the  result  to-day  I  was  un- 
certain whether  to  laugh  or  to  cry ; 
fortunately  mirth  won  the  day.  I 
was  wearing  heavy  boots  and  yet  it  was  difficult  walking,  so 
uphill  and  downdale  was  it.  I  am  truly  thankful  I  did  not  go 
to  the  expense  of  buying  the  plants  until  I  saw  the  condition 
of  the  land.  It  would  be  hopeless  to  expect  anything  like 
celery  to  grow  and  thrive  in  such  a  rough  bed  ;  it  could  never 
be  a  success. 

It  is  a  great  disappointment.  Nat  is  in  some  ways  so 
faithful  and  intelligent  that  I  thought  I  could  make  him  un- 


ssfi^fea 


A  corner  of  Casa  Bianca. 


110  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

derstand  how  I  wanted  the  soil.  He  is  a  fine  rice-field  hand. 
He  rented  ten  acres  and  always  made  good  crops.  This  is 
only  one  acre  of  very  rich  black  land  with  a  western  slope 
to  a  little  branch ;   it  has  been  pastured  for  years. 

In  the  happy  days  when  I  lived  at  Casa  Bianca  (about 
a  hundred  years  ago)  it  was  the  vegetable  garden,  and  in  it 
we  always  grew  delicious  celery ;  but  then  the  gardener  was 
an  expert,  one  of  the  wonderful  products  of  the  past,  Paul 
Wynns  by  name.  I  should  like  to  tell  his  story  some  day. 
Thanks  to  his  fidelity,  cleverness,  and  diligence  the  family 
silver  was  all  saved  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  all-absorbing 
Sherman. 

It  was  some  years  after  the  war,  and  he  was  very  old  when 
he  looked  after  our  garden,  having  a  boy  under  him  to  do  the 
work.  He  was  a  Methodist  preacher  of  some  distinction 
and  had  great  power  with  his  own  people,  which  was  very 
fortunate,  for  in  a  time  of  upset  and  intoxication,  when  the 
poor  darkeys  were  rudderless  and  one  heard  the  boast  often, 
"De  bottom  rail  cley  on  top  now,"  Paul's  good  sense  and  good 
heart  —  I  may  say  his  wisdom  —  were  a  great  blessing,  and 
he  left  his  mark  behind  him.  In  the  time  before  1860  he 
was  in  charge  of  everything  in  this  household,  a  most  accom- 
plished house  servant. 

My  predecessor  at  Casa  Bianca  was  a  woman  of  immense 
ability  and  cleverness.  She  spent  much  time  abroad  and 
was  a  great  friend  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  who  on  one 
occasion  about  18G2  said  he  had  always  desired  an  African 
in  his  suite.     Mrs.  P.  said  at  once  :  — ■ 

"I  will  send  you  one  as  a  present." 

The  Grand  Duke  demurred,  but  on  her  return  home, 
though  the  war  was  raging,  she  fulfilled  her  promise.  She 
asked  Paul  if  he  would  like  his  son  Tom  to  be  the  lad  chosen 
to  go,  that  he  would  have  the  best  education  and  live  in  the 
midst  of  luxury.     Paul,  after  mature  deliberation,  accepted 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  111 

the  honor  for  his  son  and  in  spite  of  war  and  turmoil  Tom 
was  sent. 

The  Grand  Duke  was  delighted  with  him  and  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  favor.  He  married  the  daughter  of  an 
"honorable  Councillor"  and  lived  happy  ever  afterward. 
He  lost  his  life  in  his  efforts  to  render  help  when  a  fire  broke 
out  in  the  palace,  dying  from  the  effects  of  overexertion. 
His  monthly  letters  were  the  delight  of  his  father.  Since 
Paul's  death  I  have  heard  nothing  of  the  family. 

When  I  got  back  to  Cherokee  at  4  o'clock  I  found  a  funeral 
going  on.  David's  eldest  son  was  buried.  I  am  so  sorry; 
he  was  always  a  good  boy  and  had  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter and  was  doing  good  work.     It  is  hard  on  his  parents. 

Elihu's  little  boy  was  also  buried  to-day.  I  am  distressed 
for  poor  Elihu.  He  has  lost  his  wife  and  three  little  boys 
since  he  left  Cherokee.  "  If  I  only  had  an  empty  house  in 
repair  I  would  insist  on  his  coming  back.  They  say  it  was 
his  poor  wife  who  persuaded  him  to  accept  the  offer  of  my 
neighbor. 

As  I  drove  home  to-day  Ruth  shied  violently  and,  looking 
down,  I  saw  a  terrible  looking  black  man  in  the  broiling 
sun  in  the  ditch  asleep  or  ill,  I  couldn't  tell  which,  but  Dab 
stuttered  out :  "Drunk,  ma'am  ;  nothing  but  dat."  I  drove 
on  a  little  way  and  then  said :  — 

"Dab,  that  poor  creature  will  die  in  that  burning  sun. 
Take  my  umbrella  and  go  back  and  set  it  up  over  him.  Don't 
speak  to  him,  just  put  the  umbrella  so  as  to  keep  the  sun  off." 

So  Dab  flew  off,  but  Ruth  would  not  wait,  and  I  had  to 
drive  on.  I  met  a  nice  looking  black  woman  whose  parents 
had  belonged  to  us,  and  I  said :  — 

"Chaney,  I  sent  my  umbrella  to  put  over  a  man  in  the 
ditch  there ;   do  fix  it  right  when  you  pass." 

She  dropped  a  deep  curtsy  and  said  :  "Dat  is  my  husband 
Jupiter,   Miss  Patience,   en'   he's  drunk  all  de  time,   en'  I 


112 


A    WOMAN  lilCE  PLANTER 


t'ank  yo'  kindly  for  puttin'  de  hambrellar  ober  him.  Miss 
Patience,  he  ain't  gi'e  me  so  much  as  a  apurn  fo'  five  years, 
but  he  is  my  lawful  married  husband  an'  I  bleeged  to  ten' 
W." 

September  29. 

Vareen  harvest  begun,  a  perfect  day,  the  sun  in  great 
glory,  with  little  white  clouds  flitting  hither  and  thither, 
doing  continual  homage  to  him,  and  making  the  sky  a  thing 
of  beauty.  I  did  not  go  down  to  the  plantation  early,  but 
followed  my  plan  of  getting  there  just  in  time  to  turn  back 
the  hands  who  are  leaving  the  field  with  too  little  done.  Yet 
they  got  ahead  of  me,  for  they  had  all  left  the  field  and  gone 
home  at  11  :  30  o'clock,  having  only  cut  four  acres  in  a  field 
of  eleven  acres.  Of  course  it  was  vain  to  at- 
tempt to  get  them  back.  I  met  faithful  old 
Ancrum,  whom  I  had  put  in  charge,  and  he  told 
me  that  they  had  all  cut  what  was  counted  a 
task  in  slavery  times,  and  left  the  field  by  1 1 
•  o'clock.  I  was  greatly  tried,  because  the  risk 
of  leaving  the  rice  in  the  field  all  day  Sunday 
is  too  great,  and  I  wanted  to  get  it  into  the 
barn-yard  Saturday  evening.  I  explained 
this  to  the  old  man  and  told  him  we  would 
have  to  get  a  big  day's  work  done  to- 
__^  morrow,  as  so  little  had  been  done 
to-day,  or  it  would  leave  a  very 
heavy  day's  work  for  Saturday, 
which  they  all  dislike  very  much.  My  father  always  allowed 
a  very  light  task  for  Saturday  and  required  that  washing, 
scouring,  raking  the  yards  and  burning  trash  should  be  done 
in  each  household  as  a  preparation  for  Sunday,  when  every- 
thing should  be  tidy  and  clean.  They  keep  up  the  practice 
very  generally  now,  and  it  is  rare  to  find  on  the  "street"  a  house 
where  active  preparations  are  not  being  made  on  Saturday 
evening,  and  I  encourage  it  in  every  way  in  my  power. 


"  Chaney. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  113 

The  new  beater  for  the  threshing  mill  engine  has  arrived 
and  is  being  put  up.  Last  year  I  lost  my  engineer,  he  having 
been  absorbed  by  a  neighboring  mill-owner,  and  I  felt  much 
at  a  loss,  but  I  turned  at  once  to  an  old  "befo'  de  wah" 
darkey,  who  had  learned  his  trade  under  my  father.  Every 
one  said  old  Tinny  could  not  possibly  run  the  mill :  he  was 
too  old  and  stupid  ;  but  I  sent  for  him  and  he  came  promptly, 
and  when  I  asked  if  he  could  run  the  engine  and  thresh  the 
crop  for  me  he  answered,  with  great  spirit,  "Suttinly  I  kin," 
as  though  I  had  insulted  him  by  the  question.  He  has 
showed  himself  a  competent  engineer,  careful  and  vigilant, 
though  he  looks  as  if  he  had  not  intelligence  or  capacity 
enough  to  kindle  the  fire.  His  first  action  was  to  tell  me, 
after  examining  the  machinery,  that  I  must  get  a  new  beater, 
as  he  did  not  consider  the  one  in  use  safe.  When  I  demurred 
he  said,  "Miss,  lemme  mek  you  sensible.  I  kin  patch  um 
up  en  run  de  ingin  ef  yo'  kyan't  possible  buy  a  new  one ; 
but  it's  a  resk,  en  my  ole  marsta  'ood  neber  expose  none  o' 
him  peeple  to  run  a  ingin  wid  sech  a  beater,  yo'  onderstan', 
ma'am?"  I  needed  nothing  more  than  that,  and  wrote  at 
once  to  beg  Capt.  L.  to  come  and  examine  it  and,  if  necessary, 
to  order  a  new  one  for  me.  He  took  a  long  time  to  come, 
being  a  very  busy  man,  but  when  he  did  come  he  said  Tinny 
was  quite  right  and  a  new  one  was  necessary,  and  now  Tinny 
is  engaged  in  putting  in  the  new  heater.  It  seems  almost  a 
miracle  to  me  that  he  should  be  able  to  do  it ;  but  it  just 
shows  what  it  is  to  have  been  thoroughly  trained  to  a  thing 
in  youth.  This  pygmy  of  75,  who  has  not  looked  at  an 
engine  for  thirty  years,  and  has  just  lived  under  his  own 
vine  and  fig  tree  and  worked  his  own  little  farm,  the  moment 
he  is  called  upon,  is  perfectly  at  home  in  the  engine  room  and 
really  more  competent  than  the  very  intelligent,  smart  young 
man  I  had  before,  who  reads,  writes,  and  speaks  correctly 
and  has  learned  his  trade  since  the  war. 


114  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

In  the  same  way  old  Ancrum,  who  is  80  years  of  age,  is 
the  one  man  I  can  get  to  do  a  really  pretty  piece  of  ditch- 
ing. Auerbach  says,  "By  work  we  learn  fidelity,"  and  I 
believe  the  immense  number  of  infidelities,  financial,  moral, 
and  spiritual,  which  flood  the  country  come  in  great 
measure  from  the  sentiment  against  labor  which  has  crept 
over  the  land  with  the  rise  of  wealth.  There  is  a  sentimen- 
tality which  is  opposed  to  work  and  laments  over  the  neces- 
sity for  it,  whereas  the  man  or  woman  who  has  never  really 
worked  is  to  be  pitied,  and  will  never  reach  the  point  of  ex- 
cellence and  development  that  could  have  been  attained,  had 
he  or  she  learned  to  put  out  the  whole  strength,  either  of 
mind  or  body,  on  something. 

September  30. 

I  got  down  to  the  plantation  in  time  to  turn  back  some  of 
the  young  men  who  had  left  the  field  and  were  on  their  way 
to  "the  street,"  having  cut  a  half  acre  but  not  tied  up  the 
rice  they  cut  yesterday.  A  few  laughing  words  as  to  the 
contrast  between  their  strong  looks  and  feeble  deeds  made 
them  turn  back,  and  fearing  to  lose  sight  of  them  I  offered 
to  take  them  back  to  the  field  in  my  boat.  If  I  had  been  in 
the  field  all  morning  I  could  not  have  kept  them,  they  would 
have  slipped  away  from  me  just  as  they  had  done  from  the 
foreman ;  but  arriving  fresh  and  cheerful  on  the  scene  I  can 
force  them  back  by  my  will.  I  got  into  the  field  just  as  they 
had  all  finished  cutting  and  were  about  to  leave,  and  as  each 
one  turned  to  leave,  I  said :  "Now  tie  up  what  you  cut  yes- 
terday and  tote  it  to  the  flat."  It  was  just  touch  and  go  as 
to  whether  they  would  flatly  refuse  or  obey.  For  one  mo- 
ment they  stood  wavering;  then  I  said,  "Don't  delay  now, 
for  it  is  better  to  have  the  extra  work  to-day  than  on  Satur- 
day." That  settled  it  and  they  flew,  and  now,  at  2  o'clock, 
the  whole  of  yesterday's  cutting  is  in  the  flat  and  every  one 
is  gay  and  happy. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  115 

Agnes  has  just  passed  me  going  home.  As  she  was  getting 
into  her  boat  I  said,  "Finished  already?  I  know  you  are 
glad  I  made  you  do  it."  She  showed  every  one  of  her 
perfect  teeth  and  said,  "Miss,  I  too  tenk  yo'  for  mek  me  do 
ura;  to-morrer  I  kin  finish  by  10  o'clock."  I  brought  a 
basket  of  beautiful  Keiffer  pears  with  me  and  distribute 
them  from  time  to  time,  and  they  are  much  enjoyed.  This 
country  is  the  home  of  the  pear ;  both  the  Keiffer  and  Le 
Conte  grow  and  bear  luxuriantly,  and  the  pears  reach  im- 
mense size. 

I  feel  so  happy  at  the  success  of  the  day's  work  that  I  am 
going  to  eat  my  frugal  meal,  with  its  accompaniment  of 
artesian  water,  with  great  enjoyment.  No  one  who  has 
not  spent  clays  out  of  doors,  with  all  the  pretty  sights  and 
sounds  which  nature  so  lavishly  provides,  can  know  the 
exhilaration  I  feel.  After  trying  everything  for  lunch  I  have 
settled  on  a  closely  covered  dish  of  rice,  which  is  most  satis- 
fying and  is  very  little  trouble  to  eat.  If  only  the  field 
did  not  smell  so  terribly  !  My  good  Chloe  has  put  up  a  large 
supply  of  rice  and  broiled  ham  to-day,  so  I  am  able,  after  I 
finish,  to  offer  a  part  to  any  one  who  looks  dejected  or  tired. 
"Would  you  like  some  of  my  dinner,  Ancrum?  Well, 
bring  your  bucket  cover."  They  all  carry  their  "bittle," 
as  they  call  their  lunch,  in  bright  looking  tin  cans  with  close 
fitting  covers  which  make  nice  plates. 

When  the  rice  was  all  nicely  stowed  in  the  flat  I  got  into 
my  boat  and  came  home. 

October  1. 

A  sparkling  welcome  to  October  —  a  perfect  day  with 
mercury  only  65.  I  am  sitting  on  Vareen  bank  watching 
the  "toting"  —  such  active,  wonderful  figures,  I  wish  I 
had  my  kodak.  The  distance  across  the  field  is  consider- 
able and  to  see  little  Stella,  just  her  feet  to  her  knees  visible, 
so  huge  is  the  bundle  of  rice  on  her  head,  coming  across  the 


116  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

field,  stepping  over  the  quarter  drains  from  one  boggy  spot 
to  another,  is  wonderful. 

The  hands  have  worked  splendidly  to-day  and  my  little 
refreshments  have  been  much  appreciated.  Fortunately  it 
was  just  high  water  at  3  o'clock  when  the  last  sheaf  was  put 
in  the  flat  and  so  it  could  be  poled  up  the  river  and  put 
safely  under  the  flat-house.  I  put  Elihu  in  charge  of  her  as 
watchman  until  Monday.  I  hope  that,  as  the  rice  in  the 
flat  will  make  a  comfortable  resting-place,  he  will  remain  at 
his  post.  It  was  with  a  light  heart  I  drove  back  to  the  pine- 
land,  for  the  clouds  were  darkening  and  it  was  pleasant  to 
know  that  the  rice  is  under  shelter,  and  the  blessed  Day  of 
Rest  will  be  free  from  anxiety. 

October  3. 

The  first  day  of  threshing  is  always  trying.  The  feed 
house  is  packed  up  to  the  very  roof  with  the  rice  from 
P.  D.  Wragg,  and  I  want  to  get  it  threshed  out  to  allow 
Vareen  to  be  brought  out  of  the  flat  and  stowed  in  the  feed 
room.  Of  course  the  belts,  etc.,  all  have  to  be  adjusted, 
and  it  took  so  long  to  get  in  good  running  order  that  when 
they  got  through  threshing  the  rice  in  the  mill  they  all  de- 
clared it  was  too  late  to  unload  the  flat.  I  insisted,  however, 
on  their  working  until  sunset,  as  they  had  spent  many  hours 
idle  while  the  bands  were  being  adjusted.  We  got  nearly 
all  out  of  the  flat,  and  it  will  be  easy  to  finish  early  in  the 
morning  and  have  the  flat  empty  and  ready  for  Cicero,  to 
whom  I  have  promised  it  to-morrow,  to  load  up  his  rice  at 
Casa  Bianca. 

I  rode  down  on  my  wheel  this  morning,  a  most  inspiriting 
ride  in  the  fresh  morning  air.  On  my  way  to  the  barn-yard 
I  turned  aside  to  see  the  field  I  have  recently  enclosed,  and 
planted  in  cow-peas  preparatory  to  alfalfa.  There  is  a  splen- 
did growth  of  peas  in  full  bearing,  the  pods  quite  green  still. 
It  is  a  beautiful  and  cheering  sight.     I  opened  the  gate  and 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  117 

went  in,  for  the  finest  peas  are  not  visible  from  the  gate. 
What  was  my  dismay  to  find  ten  fat,  sleek  oxen  standing 
up  to  their  bodies  in  the  peas  eating  rapidly  !  They  all 
belonged  to  the  negroes  on  the  place.  I  never  saw  a  more 
perfect  picture  of  satisfaction.  I  walked  round  the  fence  till 
I  found  the  place  where  they  had  literally  torn  three  panels 
to  pieces  —  new  American  fence  wire  well  stretched  on  fine 
cedar  posts  !  I  cannot  understand  it,  unless  they  had  help. 
The  top  wire  had  been  broken  just  between  two  staples 
and  that  gave  the  slackness  which  enabled  them  to  destroy 
it.  I  had  just  to  leave  them  there,  for  even  if  I  had  not  been 
afraid  of  them,  I  could  not  possibly  have  driven  them  out 
alone. 

I  had  to  go  on  to  the  barn-yard  and  not  say  a  word  about 
it  until  I  found  some  one  who  could  be  spared  from  the 
threshing  —  there  were  just  enough  hands  to  run  the  mill  — 
Jim  had  gone  to  Gregory  for  a  load  of  boards.  After  a 
while,  in  a  pause  of  the  threshing,  I  took  Marion,  who  was 
stowing  back  straw  in  the  barn,  and  sent  him  with  my  little 
Imp  to  drive  the  cattle  out.  I  gave  him  a  pencil  and  piece 
of  paper  and  told  him  to  write  down  the  number  of  cattle 
and  the  names  of  their  owners,  saying,  "this  is  a  position  of 
trust,  Marion."  He  answered,  "Yes,  ma'am,"  most  pleas- 
antly. He  came  back  after  a  while  with  the  names  of  the 
owners  and  the  number  of  cattle  very  neatly  written,  but 
there  were  eight  instead  of  ten.  I  asked  Imp  afterward 
how  many  oxen  there  were  and  without  hesitation  he  said, 
"ten";  so  I  knew  Marion  had  failed  in  his  trust.  Later 
I  had  the  fence  repaired  as  best  I  could  and  told  all  the 
men  they  must  tie  up  their  cattle  for  the  night.  Elihu, 
who  had  three  splendid  oxen  in  the  field,  expressed  great 
regret  and  said,  "I  ploughed  de  Ian'  for  clem  pea,  en  day 
is  tu  fyne  fer  cattle  'stroy."  He  promised  faithfully  to 
shut  his  up. 


118  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

October  4. 

On  my  way  to  Cherokee  this  morning  I  stopped  at  the 
alfalfa  field  and  there  in  the  midst  were  fourteen  head  of 
cattle ;  only  one  man  had  shut  up  his.  Elihu's  three  oxen 
were  there  and  his  cow  and  two  pretty  heifers  besides,  also  a 
pair  belonging  to  a  man  who  lives  on  his  own  farm,  two  miles 
off  in  the  woods,  and  only  works  here  when  it  pleases  him. 

I  went  on  quickly  and  sent  Jim  to  take  Imp  and  drive 
them  out  of  the  field  and  into  my  yard,  where  the  owners 
can  come  and  pay  for  them  before  they  take  them  out.  I 
charged  25  cents  each  for  the  first  offence,  and  doubled  it 
for  the  second.  It  certainly  is  a  great  trial  after  the  heavy 
expense  of  such  a  fence  to  have  professional  fence  breaking 
oxen  tear  it  to  pieces.  I  thought  nothing  could  hurt  it  but 
tools  in  human  hands. 

The  fields  that  have  been  threshed  have  turned  out  piti- 
fully and  I  am  in  despair.  I  hear  on  every  side  that  the 
price  is  very  low.  Nearly  all  the  planters  have  already 
announced  that  they  will  not  plant  any  rice  next  year,  which 
no  doubt  is  wise,  but  what  will  become  of  the  country  with 
no  money  crops  ?  For  the  first  time  I  put  a  mortgage  on 
the  place  this  year  and  borrowed  $1000.  Marshfield  at 
Casa  Bianca  (25  acres)  has  often  put  that  much  in  the 
bank  and  sometimes  more;  so  I  felt  justified  in  doing  it, 
but  now  — ! 

I  am  trying  to  cut  and  cure  some  pea-vine  and  crab-grass 
hay,  but  it  is  very  uphill  work.  Every  one  is  so  ignorant  of 
hay  making  and  I  cannot  tell  them  with  authority  because 
I  know  nothing  myself  except  what  common-sense  dictates. 
The  putting  up  and  starting  of  the  mowing  machine  was  very 
difficult,  but  now  it  is  working  fairly  well,  and  the  weather  is 
perfect  for  the  purpose.  The  stacking  I  cannot  get  properly 
done  —  they  are  accustomed  to  pile  straw  in  heaps  and  they 
will  only  pile  the  hay  instead  of  making  a  compact  stack. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  119 

October  11. 

Digging  potatoes  at  Cherokee,  eight  women  with  hoes  ; 
but  they  make  slow  progress.  I  insisted  on  having  Jim 
open  some  with  the  plough,  but  Bonaparte  said  the  plough 
covered  up  too  many,  and  as  he  has  been  superintending  this 
work  a  long  time,  and  has  the  banking  and  storing  of  the 
potatoes,  I  thought  it  the  part  of  wisdom  to  let  him  do  it 
in  the  way  which  he  assured  me  would  secure  the  greatest 
number  of  potatoe   for  my  use. 

October  13. 

Still  digging  potatoes,  though  only  one  and  three-quarter 

acres  were  planted,  and  they  are  not  turning  out  as  well  as 

usual ;  they  generally  yield  over  one  hundred  bushels  to  the 

acre.     The  hay  making  goes  on  pretty  well.     Jim  is  getting 

to  run  the  mower  and  rake  very  skilfully,  but  the  man  I  have 

stacking  the  hay  is  very  obstinate.     As  long  as  I  stand  and 

look  at  him  the  stack  is  packed  and  properly  formed,  but  as 

soon  as  I  leave  he  just  tosses  the  hay  lightly  on  the  pole  and 

a  rain  would  ruin  it. 

October  23. 

The  potatoes  are  all  in  and  the  hay  nearly  so.  The  other 
evening  I  was  superintending  the  stacking  of  the  hay  when 
five  children  came  to  ask  me  to  let  them  go  in  the  potato  field 
and  "hunt  tetta."  I  let  them  go,  as  I  always  do,  for  my 
heart  is  tender  to  children  and  I  like  to  see  their  delight 
over  the  potatoes  they  find.  I  was  so  much  interested  in 
getting  a  perfect  stack  that  I  went  up  the  ladder  to  the  top 
to  see  if  it  was  well  packed,  while  the  wagon  went  for  another 
load.  It  was  so  lovely  up  there  that  I  sat  a  long  time.  The 
sun  was  nearing  the  end  of  its  journey,  and  the  slanting 
rays  glorified  the  fields  with  their  borders  of  bright  colored 
leaves,  the  ruddy  brown  of  the  cypress  giving  its  rich  tone 
to  the  landscape.  I  saw  from  my  vantage  point  nearly  the 
whole  upland,  and  in  the  foreground  the  children  in  the 


120 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


potato  patch.  They  all  had  hoes  and  it  struck  me  they  were 
digging  very  regularly  in  rows  and  not  here  and  there,  as 
they  generally  do,  and  I  watched  them  more  closely.  In  the 
little  time  that  they  had  been  there  the  boys  had  each  about 


*&** 


Five  children  asked  me  to  let  them  "hunt  tetta." 


a  bushel  in  their  bags,  and  I  realized  that  the  women  had 
systematically  covered  up  potatoes  in  the  rows  as  they  dug 
them.  I  did  not  stop  the  children,  but  let  them  go  on  every 
afternoon,  with  the  result  that  they  each  got  about  ten 
bushels  of  potatoes.     Another  year  I  will  not  employ  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  121 

women  on  the  place  to  dig  them,  but  will  get  hands  from 

outside,  for  whom  the   temptation  will  not   be   so  great  to 

hide  the  potatoes  for  their  own  children  to  find.      I   like 

the  children  to  glean,  for  their  parents  are  so  careless  and 

improvident  that  very  few  make  a  crop  of  potatoes,  though 

they  have  every  opportunity  to  do  so,  and  children  always 

love  potatoes;  but  when  it  comes  to  having  the  best  ones 

covered  up  for  them  I  feel  it  is  time  to  call  a  halt.     One  year 

I  superintended  the  digging  very  closely  myself,  and  there 

was  no  chance  for  covering  up.     The  crop  turned  out  finely 

and  I  was  pleased,  but  after  the  potatoes  were  banked  in  the 

barn-yard  they  were  stolen,  so  that  I  have  since  left  it  entirely 

to  Bonaparte. 

October  31. 

The  harvest  of  my  twenty-five  acre  field  at  Casa  Bianca 
began  to-day  —  most  beautiful  weather  and  the  hands 
worked  very  well,  cutting  down  seven  and  a  half  acres,  so 
that  I  hope  we  will  get  it  all  in  the  flats  by  Saturday. 

November  1. 
Another  brilliant  day  and  the  hands  getting  on  merrily 
with  the  work.  If  this  were  April  rice  we  would  tie  up  to- 
day what  was  cut  yesterday,  but  the  June  rice  straw  is  so 
green  that  one  day's  sun  is  not  enough  to  dry  it  and  so  the 
tying  will  not  begin  until  to-morrow. 

November  2. 

Seven  and  a  half  acres  cut  again  to-day  and  Monday's 
cutting  tied  up  and  put  in  little  cocks  in  the  field.  Though 
we  have  only  had  the  few  hands  living  on  the  place,  the  work 
is  getting  on  finely.  The  sky  is  somewhat  overcast,  but  I 
trust  it  does  not  mean  rain. 

November  3. 

It  began  to  rain  late  last  evening,  and  poured  all  night.  I 
could  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  my  rice  on  the  stubble.     That 


122 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  123 

which  is  stacked  may  not  be  much  hurt,  but  that  lying 
untied  on  the  stubble  will  be  terribly  injured.  During  all 
the  beautiful  weather  of  the  past  two  weeks  I  was  eager  to 
get  the  field  harvested,  but  Marcus  said  it  was  not  quite 
ripe  enough,  and  when  rice  is  cut  underripe  the  grain  is 
soft  and  mashes  up  in  the  pounding,  making  a  very  poor 
quality  of  rice ;   so  I  was  forced  to  wait. 

November  4. 

Reports  from  Casa  Bianca  are  terrible.  The  gale  of  east 
wind  we  have  had  forced  in  the  sea  water  till  it  swept  over 
the  banks,  and  only  the  tops  of  the  stacks  are  to  be  seen  above 
the  water  and  it  is  still  raining.  Marcus  had  to  put  a  boat 
in  the  fields  and  he  paddled  down  over  all  the  banks  to 
examine  the  condition  of  the  rice  in  Marshfield. 

November  7. 
To-day   I   moved   from   the   pineland   to   the   plantation 
(Cherokee).     There  has  been  no  ice,  but  we  have  had  three 
heavy  frosts  and  I  think  the  vegetation  sufficiently  killed 
to  make  it  safe. 

November  10. 

A  glorious  day  after  all  the  rain.  I  have  not  written  for 
some  days  because  things  are  too  depressing  all  around  me. 
When  they  get  very  bad  I  cannot  bear  to  write  them  down. 
Saturday  I  paid  out  S75,  the  amount  it  usually  takes  to  put 
Marshfield  in  the  barn-yard,  and  it  is  still  in  the  field.  The 
turning  and  drying  of  the  rice  have  been  very  expensive. 
To-day  I  went  down  and  was  much  relieved  to  see  it  in  such 
good  condition.  Marcus  greeted  me  with  that  subtle  flat- 
tery of  which  the  darkies  are  masters,  a  cheerful,  respectful, 
hearty  gieeting  and  then,  "Miss,  cle  Laud  mus'  be  love  yer, 
ma'am  !  I  neber  see  sech  ting,  I  was  shock  wen  I  see  de 
rice,  fu'  it  ain't  damage  none  tall,  yes,  ma'am  de  Laud  must 
sho'ly  love  yer!"     I  expressed  my  gratitude  for  the  great 


124 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


mercy,  for  indeed  it  looks  wonderfully  well.  One  flat,  the 
Sarah,  was  loaded  to-day.  She  was  to  have  had  eight 
acres  put  in,  but  when  they  got  seven  on  she  began  to  leak 
and  no  more  could  be  put  on.  I  have  ordered  hands  down 
from  Cherokee  to  bring  her  up  the  river  by  hand,  for  she  is 


Sep 


"  The  field  with  its  picturesque  workers." 

leaking  too  much  to  be  left  loaded  until  Saturday,  when  I 
have  ordered  the  tug  to  tow  the  others  up. 

November  15. 

Down  at  Casa  Bianca  again,  in  the  field  all  day,  the  hands 

toting  rice    to    78,    my    largest    flat.     She  is    expected    to 

carry  nine  acres.     It  is  lovely  down  on  the  banks,  and  my 

English  friend,  an  artist,  who  is  sketching  the  field  with  its 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  125 

picturesque  workers,  is  enthusiastic  over  the  wonderful  soft 

colors  and  the  enchanting  haze  over  all.     I  will   have  to 

borrow  a  flat,  for  Sarah  is  leaking  too  much  to  be  brought 

back  from  Cherokee  and  7S  and  White  House  cannot  carry 

all  the  rice. 

November  19. 

The  tug  brought  the  three  flats  at  daylight  this  morning. 
I  could  not  get  all  three  unloaded,  but  the  rice  from  two 
is  safely  stowed  in  the  mill  and  the  other  will  have  to  take 
its  chances  in  the  flat  till  Monday.  The  hands  worked  well 
to-day,  and  were  very  merry  and  danced  for  my  artist  friend. 
A  man  came  bringing  $2  to  buy  two  wagon  loads  of  rice 
straw.  It  is  in  great  demand  and  it  is  hard  to  refuse  to  sell 
it  when  people  want  it  so  much.  I  let  this  darky  have  the 
two  loads.  I  have  always  given  away  a  great  deal  but  I 
have  to  deny  myself  that  pleasure  this  year,  for  I  have  twenty- 
eight  head  of  cattle,  not  to  speak  of  the  horses,  to  get  through 
the  winter,  and  the  crop  is  so  short. 

November  20. 

Marshfield  turned  out  737|  bushels  in  spite  of  storm 
and  salt.     Now,  if  I  can  only  get  a  decent  price  for  it. 

November  25. 
Drove  down  to  Gregory  to  sell  my  rice  in  the  rough,  as 
I  have  not  yet  got  samples  of  that  I  sent  to  mill  in  October. 
Sold  it  for  421  cents  per  bushel,  $313.43  for  the  737|  bushels  ! 

"Alas,  poor  Yorick." 

Cherokee,    November   27. 

Rode  on  horseback  to  Peaceville  to-day  to  get  the  mail,  and 
brought  back  a  very  heavy  mail  and  two  books  which  have 
been  generously  sent  to  the  Book  Club ;  and  not  content 
with  that,  saw  some  very  nice  salt  fish  at  the  store  and  bought 
two  pounds  and  brought  that  home  too. 

I  have  given  Ruth  holiday  since  moving,  and  am  using 


126  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

Romola.  She  is  a  delightful  saddle  horse  so  that  I  have 
been  riding  everywhere  instead  of  driving,  and  I  do  enjoy 
it.     Romola  has  a  history. 

One  of  my  hands  some  years  ago  got  into  trouble  and  came 
to  me  in  great  distress  to  borrow  quite  a  large  sum  of  money. 
I  lent  it  to  him  and  two  years  passed  without  his  making 
the  least  effort  to  pay  it,  though  he  had  made  good  crops 
and  shipped  over  a  hundred  bushels  of  rice  of  his  own  to 
market.     So  one  spring  I  said  to  him, 

"As  you  will  not  pay  your  debt  yourself,  you  had  better 
make  your  horse  pay  it.  I  will  rent  her  from  you  and  use 
her  until  the  debt  is  paid."  He  seemed  very  pleased  at  the 
idea  and  brought  his  mare  the  next  day.  I  had  often  felt 
sorry  for  her ;  she  struck  me  as  having  once  been  some  one's 
pet  and  a  pleasure  horse  —  a  dark  chestnut,  with  a  nice  air 
about  her.  When  I  asked  her  name  he  gave  the  name  of 
one  dear  to  me  which  I  could  not  bear  to  use,  so  I  said : 
"I  will  call  her  Romola,  after  you."  This  delighted  him, 
his  name  being  Romulus,  pronounced  by  his  friends  Ram- 
blus. 

I  found  to  my  dismay  that  Romola  was  too  weak  to  do 
any  work  when  she  first  came  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  feed- 
ing her  for  a  month  before  she  could  be  of  any  use.  Romulus 
had  only  fed  her,  and  that  lightly,  when  he  used  her,  which 
might  be  once  a  week  or  once  a  fortnight ;  the  rest  of  the  time 
she  was  turned  loose  in  the  woods  to  hunt  her  living. 

After  being  well  fed  and  groomed  for  a  while  she  became 
quite  useful,  and  at  the  end  of  nine  months  the  debt  was 
paid  and  I  returned  her  to  him.  He  brought  her  back,  how- 
ever, at  once  and  said  :  — 

"Miss,  she  look  so  fine  you  kin  keep  um  fu'  she  feed.  I 
ain't  got  no  co'n.     I  ain't  got  no  pertikler  use  fur  um." 

So  I  kept  her  through  that  winter  and  in  the  spring  he 
came  to  say  he  had  received  an  offer  of  $45  for  her  and  he  was 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  127 

going  to  sell  her.  I  told  him  I  would  give  him  $50  and  so 
Romola  became  mine,  and  she  is  a  delightful  creature. 

Having  known  evil  days  she  appreciates  her  home  and  is 
always  cheerful.  Her  gaits  are  very  pleasant,  easier  than 
Ruth's,  but  she  is  a  great  jumper,  no  fence  can  hold  her,  she 
skims  over  like  a  bird.  When  I  try  to  get  her  near  enough 
to  a  gate  for  my  short  arms  to  reach  the  latch  there  is  always 
a  danger  of  her  leaping  it. 

She  comes  up  to  it  nicely  and  stops  where  a  man's  long 
arm  could  open  it  with  ease,  but  for  me  it  is  hopeless.  I 
ride  off  and  bring  her  back  two  or  three  times  with  the  same 
result,  then  she  loses  patience  and  prepares  to  jump. 

Green  has  given  me  notice  that  he  wishes  to  leave  my 
service  the  end  of  this  month,  so  I  must  find  some  one  else. 
He  milks  the  five  cows  and  ploughs  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of 
oats  a  day  and  thinks  he  is  overworked ;  told  Chloe  yester- 
day he  was  broken  down  with  hard  work  ! 

Just  at  the  end  of  the  war,  when  things  were  being  ad- 
justed after  the  upheaval  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation, 
my  mother  was  trying  to  arrange  a  contract  which  would 
be  just  to  all  parties,  so  that  the  lands  might  be  worked  and 
the  starvation  and  want  which  was  threatening  this  region 
prevented.  The  intelligent  negroes  saw  the  necessity  and 
gave  what  help  they  could,  acquiescing  in  the  terms  of  the 
contract.  The  inferior  element  among  the  negroes  was  very 
turbulent  and  rebellious  and  it  was  a  very  exciting  scene. 

At  my  mother's  request  a  United  States  soldier  had  been 
detailed  by  the  commandant  in  Gregory  to  be  present,  wit- 
ness the  contract  and  keep  order.  During  the  turmoil  and 
uproar  the  soldier  said  :  — ■ 

"I  should  think  you'd  rather  get  white  help." 

From  time  to  time  it  has  recurred  to  me  with  renewed 
humor,  and  now  I  think  the  time  has  come  when  I  really  must 
try  and  "get  white  help." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Thanksgiving,  November  28. 

I  ROSE  very  early  so  as  to  make  the  long  drive  to  Gregory 
in  time  for  church.  I  sent  Chloe  and  Dab  out  to  col- 
lect holly  and  moss,  for  my  thanksgiving  service  is 
always  to  lay  some  tokens  of  loving  memory  in  the  sacred 
spot  where  my  loved  ones  lie. 

The  morning  was  beautiful,  but  very  cold;  as  the  sun 
gained  power  it  got  warmer  and  the  air  was  delightful.  I 
was  detained  getting  off  so  that  I  was  late  for  church,  but 
spent  a  long  time  in  the  churchyard  placing  the  quantity 
of  brilliant  holly,  the  berries  so  red  and  the  leaves  so  green, 
in  beds  of  the  solemn  gray  moss  to  my  satisfaction. 

When  I  finished  I  drove  to  Woodstock  to  spend  the  rest 
of  the  day  and  night.  On  my  way  I  saw  by  the  roadside 
two  young  people  having  a  picnic  a  deux  —  a  pretty  woman, 
very  fair  in  a  Marie  Louise  blue  shirtwaist.  I  thought  what 
a  charming  way  to  pass  their  holiday,  taking  their  lunch  in 
the  woods,  the  brown  carpet  of  pine  needles  spread  at  their 
feet.  As  I  came  abreast  of  them  the  man  crossed  the  road 
and  said :  — 

"I  wish  to  speak  to  you,  ma'am.  I've  been  waiting  for 
you.  You  may  remember  you  passed  us  driving  in  a  wagon 
this  morning  ?  The  man  whose  wagon  we  were  in  and  who 
was  driving,  said  :  '  That's  the  lady  for  you  ;  she's  got  plenty 
of  land  and  money  and  you'd  better  see  her.'" 

I  laughed  and  said,  "He  was  right  about  the  land,  but 

128 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  129 

much  astray  in  the  other  statement.  I  have  about  a  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  but  not  a  cent  of  money." 

"Well,  ma'am,  it's  the  land  I'm  after.  I  want  to  farm. 
I've  been  working  with  a  big  company  at  my  trade,  steam- 
fitting  and  carpenter's  work,  and  they've  laid  off  their  hands 
in  this  tight  spell,  and  I've  took  a  notion  to  go  back  to  farm- 
ing for  a  while.  I  was  raised  on  a  farm  an'  was  a-ploughin' 
cotton  when  I  was  12  years  old  —  I  don't  belong  to  this 
State.  I  come  here  last  year  for  my  wife's  health.  She 
loves  the  country,  so  I  would  like  to  take  about  thirty  acres 
on  shares." 

I  asked  if  he  could  manage  that  much  alone.  He  pointed 
to  his  pretty  wife  and  said  :  — 

"She's  just  the  workin'est  woman  you  ever  see  an'  she'll 
do  her  share,  I  reckon." 

I  told  him  to  come  up  to  Cherokee  as  soon  as  he  could 
and  look  over  the  land ;  that  I  had  a  cottage  which  used  to 
be  our  schoolhouse  when  I  was  a  child,  which  I  thought  would 
be  very  comfortable  for  him  after  a  little  work.  I  asked  him 
what  shares  he  proposed.    He  said  :  — 

"In  course  I  don't  know  the  way  you  works  shares  in  this 
State,  but  at  home  I  rents  my  farm  to  my  brother-in-law 
an'  I  furnishes  the  team  and  feeds  it  and  the  land  is  under 
good  fence  an'  we  divides  the  cost  of  fertilizer  an'  he  does  all 
the  work  an'  we  shares  the  crop  in  half ;  he  takes  one-half 
and  gives  me  one-half." 

I  told  him  that  would  suit  me  entirely.  I  had  my  land 
under  good  wire  fencing  and  would  furnish  a  team  and  feed  it. 

I  drove  on  —  I  have  always  said  I  was  the  special  child 
of  Providence  and  here  is  an  instance  —  waylaid  on  the  road 
by  the  very  person  I  was  wanting  to  find  and  have  been 
looking  for  in  vain. 

I  was  late  for  luncheon,  but  was  forgiven  in  view  of  such 
unforeseen  interruption. 


130  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

Woodstock,  November  29. 

This  morning  it  poured  torrents,  so  I  did  not  start  until 
midday,  when  it  was  not  raining  so  hard.  I  drove  through 
the  terrific  neighborhood  road  to  the  ferry  only  to  find  the 
wire  broken  and  the  flat  drifting  down  the  river. 

In  the  intense  cold  and  wet  discomfort,  I  had  food  for 
devout  thanksgiving  that  I  had  not  been  a  little  earlier  and 
so  been  in  the  drifting  flat.  I  turned  and  drove  three  miles 
up  the  river  to  another  ferry,  so  that  I  did  not  get  home  until 
very  nearly  dark. 

When  within  a  mile  of  Cherokee  I  met  my  farmer  on  his 
way  back  to  town ;  he  had  hired  a  horse  and  gone  up  to  look 
over  the  land,  and  though  it  was  a  most  discouraging  day 
and  he  was  wet  to  the  skin  and  very  cold  and  very  sore,  for 
he  said  he  had  not  ridden  for  years,  he  was  delighted  with  the 
land.  He  said,  however,  he  feared  the  repairs  on  the  house 
would  cost  more  than  a  renter  for  only  one  year  would  pay, 
and  that  was  all  that  he  now  proposed  to  rent. 

I  told  him  I  was  willing  to  put  the  repairs  in  and  that 
while  they  were  going  on  he  could  occupy  two  rooms  that  I 
had  elsewhere,  as  he  expressed  great  eagerness  to  come  at 
once  if  he  came  at  all.  So  there  on  the  road  in  the  rain, 
it  was  agreed  that  he  should  come  up  on  the  boat  next 
Wednesday. 

I  am  so  worn  out  with  the  long  drive  and  the  intense  cold 
that  I  can  scarcely  make  myself  write,  but  apparently  my 
"white  help"  is  in  sight  and  I  must  record  it. 

December  3. 

The  boat  blew  very  early  yesterday  morning.  I  had  sent 
the  two  wagons  up  to  meet  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Z.  and  their  belong- 
ings, and  they  arrived  with  very  neatly  packed  clean  new  fur- 
niture, his  fine  tool  chest  being  the  most  impressive  thing. 

Mr,  Z.  very  soon  got  everything  in  position  and  the  cook- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  131 

ing  stove  up  and  going,  and  this  morning  he  started  work 
upon  the  cottage. 

Fortunately  I  had  some  shingles  on  hand  or  I  could  not 
have  undertaken  it,  but  only  1000  will  have  to  be  bought. 
The  plastering  is  down,  and  that  is  the  most  serious  consider- 
ation now.  The  sides  are  good,  but  the  ceiling  is  much 
broken. 

I  drove  Romola  to  the  store  to  get  the  nails,  etc.,  which 
were  wanted,  and  then,  feeling  very  much  lulled  and  soothed 
by  the  thought  of  having  some  one  who  worked  with  such 
vim  and  needed  no  looking  after,  I  spent  a  delightful,  restful 
evening  reading  the  "Memoirs  of  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun." 
Most  interesting  and  inspiring  to  read  of  such  a  woman  —  such 
great  gifts  and  above  all  such  wonderful  diligence  —  not  an 
idle  moment  did  she  allow  herself ;  her  art  and  the  social 
labors  belonging  thereto  occupied  every  moment. 

Cherokee,  December  5. 

I  had  to  go  to  Gregory  to-day  to  get  the  check  for  my  rice. 
Small  though  it  is,  I  need  it  to  pay  for  thrashing,  etc.  I 
determined  to  take  my  colt  Dandy  over  the  ferry  for  the 
first  time,  as  that  would  give  a  spice  of  enjoyment  to  an  other- 
wise trying  day,  so  had  the  pole  put  on  the  buckboard  and 
Ruth  and  Dandy  put  in.  He  drives  charmingly  in  double 
harness,  but  the  ferry  is  a  very  trying  thing  at  first  to  a 
horse  —  just  a  long,  flat  boat,  only  wide  enough  to  admit  of 
driving  in  with  care,  without  railing  front  or  back,  and 
propelled  across  the  Black  River,  which  is  very  deep,  by  two 
negroes  pulling  on  a  wire  slack  enough  to  allow  the  passage 
of  tugboats  and  small  steamers.  If,  by  chance,  one  of  these 
comes  puffing  along  while  one  is  in  the  flat,  it  takes  a  very 
sensible  horse  to  stand  it. 

My  horses  are  all  wonderfully  intelligent  and  understand 
a  reassuring  explanation  accompanied  by  a  pat  and  loving 


132 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


word,  but  Dan  is  so  young  and  frolicsome  that  he  might  not 
stop  to  listen.  He  is  a  picture  pony,  with  the  grace  and 
activity  of  a  kitten,  and  as  plucky  and  stanch  as  possible, 
but  terribly  mischievous ;  has  killed  two  calves  for  me. 
He  is  not  yet  broken  to  saddle,  for  I  was  afraid  of  putting 


-Jg§<fl^; 


"  The  Ferry." 

much  weight  on  him  while  so  young.  Breaking  him  to  double 
harness  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me,  for  he  has  never  given 
any  real  -trouble.  I  put  him  first  in  a  very  light  vehicle 
with  Mollie,  the  doyenne  of  the  stable,  who,  though  old  (22) 
and  reliable,  is  very  spirited  and  pulled  up  with  him  beauti- 
fully, yet  didn't  mind  his  prancing  and  dancing.  I  didn't 
put  him  in  single  for  fear  he  would  come  into  general  use 
before  he  was  old  enough  to  stand  it. 

One  day  Jim  came  to  me  and  begged  me  to  allow  Jack  and 
himself  to  put  Dan  in  the  little  single  wagon.  I  hesitated, 
as  I  was  too  busy  to  go  and  see  it  done,  but  Jim  was  so  eager 
for  it  that  finally  I  consented,  told  him  to  take  the  body  off 
of  the  little  wagon,  leaving  only  the  running  gear,  which 
would  be  light,  and  told  him  only  one  of  them  must  be  in 
the  wagon  at  a  time.     I  did  not  go  out  for  about  an  hour, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  133 

when  I  saw  Jim  leading  Dan  to  the  stable,  no  wagon  to  be 
seen  anywhere.  I  asked  where  the  wagon  was.  His  answer 
was :  — 

"Dan  went  beautiful,  ma'am,  an'  we  drove  him  all  over 
the  plantation."  "Well,"  I  said,  "then,  where  is  the 
wagon?"  Most  reluctantly  Jim  went  on:  "Then,  ma'am, 
Jack  an'  me  thought  as  he'd  done  so  well  we  wud  jes'  take 
him  down  the  avenue  an'  haul  in  that  wood  by  the  gate." 
"What,"  I  cried,  "that  heavy  oak  wood?"  Lower  and 
lower  went  poor  Jim's  head.  "Yes,  ma'am."  "And  what 
happened  then?"  I  was  determined  to  extract  the  whole 
story,  so  as  to  know  how  to  act.  "Then,  ma'am,  Dan  he 
pull  fine  till  we  cum  to  rise  the  hill,  an'  then  he  wudn't 
pull  the  wagon  up."  "Did  Jack  and  you  take  off  some  of 
the  wood,  and  one  of  you  push  behind?"  "No,  ma'am,  we 
never  thought  of  that,  but  we  tried  to  make  him  pull  it,  an' 
when  we  whipped  him  he  just  pranced  and  threw  himself 
down  till  we  had  to  take  him  out  for  fear  he'd  hurt  himself." 

I  was  very  angry.  Nothing  more  injudicious  could  have 
been  done  to  the  dear  little  beast  who  up  to  this  time  had 
thought  human  beings  all  powerful  and  all  wise.  "Take 
him  back  to  the  wagon,  Jim,  but  give  Jack  time  to  run  ahead 
and  take  off  half  the  load ;  and  put  the  logs  entirely  out  of 
sight,  Jack,  so  that  Dan  may  not  know  that  any  change  has 
been  made  in  the  wagon." 

Jack  ran  ahead  and  Jim  followed  with  Dan,  I  walking 
by  him  patting  and  shaming  him  by  turns,  and  assuring 
him  that  he  had  lost  his  potato  for  that  day.  The  wagon 
was  halfway  up  the  steep  ascent  in  the  avenue,  the  only 
little  rise  for  miles  in  this  flat  country.  It  is  hard  to  believe 
that  those  two  men  had  put  a  genuine  load  of  wood  on  that 
wagon,  but  they  had,  live  oak,  which  is  heavy  and  strong  as 
iron. 

To  make  things  worse,  the  horses  were  all  loose  in  the 


134  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

park,  and  Dan  whinnied  after  them  and  they  answered. 
While  Jim  was  putting  Dan  in  I  called  Mollie  and  had  her 
halter  put  on  and  kept  her  near  Dandy.  He  stood  quietly 
until  Jim  took  up  the  reins  and  clucked  to  him,  then  he 
reared  and  plunged  and  bucked,  but  I  made  Jack  push  be- 
hind, so  that  gradually  the  top  of  the  hill  was  reached,  and 
then  I  led  Mollie  ahead  in  the  direction  of  the  stable  yard 
as  though  I  had  forgotten  all  about  Dandy,  but  told  Jim 
to  use  the  whip  freely  if  necessary,  for  that  wagon  had  to  be 
brought  into  the  yard  by  him  or  he  would  be  ruined.  Jack 
must  push  behind  with  all  his  might  so  that  the  pony  should 
not  be  strained,  but  come  he  must. 

Jim  and  Jack  both  pleaded  to  leave  the  wagon  till  after- 
noon and  then  put  him  in,  but  I  said:  "You  went  against 
my  orders  in  putting  the  load  on,  but  having  started  it  you 
have  got  to  carry  it  through."  Dan  proceeded  to  do  all 
that  a  kitten  would  do  under  similar  circumstances  —  he 
doubled  himself  up,  he  threw  himself  down,  he  stood  on  his 
hind  legs  and  pawed  the  air,  but  finally  he  leaped  forward  and 
took  wagon,  Jack,  Jim,  and  all  up  the  avenue  and  into  the 
stable  yard  at  a  full  run.  Mollie  and  I  just  cleared  the  road 
in  time,  but  nothing  was  broken,  and  Dan  was  in  the  sweetest 
humor  and  no  harm  was  done,  for  I  drove  him  in  double 
harness  the  next  day  and  he  was  quieter  than  usual ;  but  I 
have  not  allowed  him  put  in  single  harness  again,  for  I  want 
him  to  forget  this  episode  entirely  first. 

To  return  to  my  trip  to  Gregory  —  I  started  at  12:30, 
Dan  and  Ruth  in  fine  spirits  and  quite  playful.  When  we 
reached  the  ferry  the  man  in  charge  begged  me  to  take  the 
horses  out  and  let  him  roll  the  buckboard  in  and  have  the 
horses  led  in,  but  I  was  not  willing  for  that.  I  have  to  cross 
the  ferry  whenever  I  drive  to  the  railroad,  and  my  horses 
must  learn  to  go  in  quietly,  for  I  often  cross  without  a  ser- 
vant.    I  had  Jim  walk  ahead  and  stand  in  the  flat  at  the  point 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  135 

where  the  horses  should  stop  and  then  I  drove  in.  The 
water  showed  between  the  flat  and  the  shore,  a  moving  streak 
of  light,  which  Dan  examined  carefully,  and  then  snorted. 
As  I  touched  him  lightly  with  the  whip  he  made  a  flying 
leap  into  the  flat  and  stood  perfectly  still  for  a  moment, 
nostrils  distended,  ears  erect  like  a  bronze  horse.  Before  he 
had  time  to  realize  the  situation  and  that  we  were  moving, 
I  slipped  out  and  went  to  him  with  an  apple  and  a  few  sweet 
potatoes,  which  he  loves.  As  he  smelled  them  in  my  hand 
he  relaxed  his  tense  aspect  and  in  a  few  seconds  he  was 
eating  as  contentedly  as  though  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
a  flat  daily. 

On  our  return  trip  he  went  quietly  into  the  flat  and  turned 
his  head  at  once  to  see  if  I  was  coming  with  a  potato,  and  I 
do  not  think  he  will  ever  give  any  trouble  at  the  ferry  in 
future.  It  was  wonderful  to  see  how  Ruth  did  all  she  could 
to  assist  in  getting  him  in  quietly.  I  think  she  remembered 
her  own  first  trip,  how  frightened  she  was  and  how  I  calmed 
her  in  the  same  way  with  sweet  potatoes. 

I  got  through  all  my  business  and  got  back  to  Cherokee 
at  5  :  30,  which  was,  I  think,  doing  well  for  Dandy's  first  long 
drive,  thirty  miles  and  the  ferry,  and  he  was  just  as  gay  in 
the  last  mile  as  he  was  in  the  first. 

December  19. 

Punch  came  to-day  to  ask  me  how  much  he  still  owed 
me.  It  was  hard  to  tell,  for  two  years  ago  I  sold  him  a  fine 
plough  horse  for  $50.  He  had  just  moved  on  to  my  place ; 
wanted  to  rent  land  and  plant  corn  and  cotton.  I  heard 
he  was  a  fine  ploughman  and  his  wife  a  good  hoe  hand,  and  I 
was  quite  cheerful  when  he  said  instead  of  hiring  an  animal 
if  I  would  give  him  a  chance  to  pay  for  it  out  of  his  crop  he 
would  like  to  buy  this  horse  from  me.  I  had  more  horses 
than  I  needed  and  readily  consented  to  omit  any  cash  pay- 
ment and  wait  until  the  end  of  the  year. 


136 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


At  first  the  new  broom  swept  very  clean.  Punch  worked 
hard  and  his  wife  was  very  stirring  and  I  was  delighted ; 
but  as  the  spring  ripened  into  summer  and  the  days  grew 
long  and  the  suns  hot,  and  I  moved  to  the  pineland,  Punch 
and  Judy  began  to  rest  in  the  shade  of  the  big  trees  in  the 
pasture,  and  the  weeds  grew  apace  in  the  crop,  so  that  when 
the  autumn  came  the  results  were  pitifully  small,  and  I  did 
not  exact  the  payment  of  the  debt,  but  told  Punch,  as  he  was 
an  expert  at  shingle  making,  he  could  cut  shingles  in  my 
swamp,  where  there  was  plenty  of  cypress,  and  pay  his 
debt  in  that  way.  This  proposal  seemed  to  delight  him,  and 
he  promised  to  go  to  work  at  once.  But 
at  the  end  of  two  years  he  had  only  paid  $27 
on  his  horse,  and  no  rent  at  all  for  the 
land  he  had  planted,  and  he  ceased  to 
feed  his  horse  during  the  winter,  so  that 
■__.     it  died. 

He  was  in  great  distress,  and 
in  view  of  his  misfortune  I  for- 
gave him  the  debt  and  urged 
him  to  work  his  crop  this  year. 
He  promised  renewed  effort 
and  I  hoped  anew.  About 
midsummer  he  came  to  me  in 
terrible  trouble.  His  boy  had 
been  arrested  and  put  in  jail. 
He  was  a  boy  of  about  18  years  ; 
his  son,  but  not  his  wife's ;  but 
heart  when  she  heard  that  the 
child  was  neglected  and  starving,  took  him  when  2  years  old 
and  cared  for  him  as  her  own,  and  had  brought  him  up  more 
carefully  than  most.  The  boy  had  hired  a  bicycle  in  Con- 
way, fifteen  miles  distant,  for  three  days,  and  had  come  to 
visit  his  father  and  remained  three  months.     The  owners 


His  wife  was  very  stirring, 
she  in  the  kindness  of  her 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  137 

of  the  wheel  had  great  difficulty  in  tracing  him,  but  naturally 
when  found  they  put  him  in  jail. 

Punch  and  Judy,  anguish  stricken  and  weeping,  came  to 
me  for  help.  I  told  them  the  only  possible  way  to  help  the 
boy  was  to  let  him  take  the  punishment  the  law  decreed. 
It  might  save  him  from  being  a  confirmed  thief.  All  in 
vain  I  talked ;  they  pleaded  with  me,  weeping,  to  lend  them 
the  $15  they  needed  to  get  him  out.  They  had  neither  of 
them  slept  in  their  bed  since  the  news  first  came ;  they 
could  not  go  to  bed  knowing  he  was  in  jail.  When  I  asked 
where  they  slept  they  answered  on  the  floor,  without  mattress 
or  bedding  of  any  sort,  and  they  looked  it.  Judy  said : 
"Miss,  yo'  tink  I  kin  git  een  my  comfutuble  high  bed  en 
kno'  dat  chile,  my  own  boy  I  raise,  is  punish  een  jail.  No, 
ma'am,  I  tell  Punch  neber  will  I  git  een  dat  bed  agin  till 
my  boy  is  save." 

Unfortunately  I  had  the  money  in  the  house,  and  I  gave 
it.  They  had  sold  one  of  their  cows  and  got  the  other  $15, 
and  Punch  went  and  paid  the  $30  and  the  suit  was  dropped. 
No  sooner  was  the  boy  free  than  he  was  arrested  again  for 
robbing  the  post-office,  and  then  their  disappointment  and 
distress  was  so  keen  that  they  became  silent.  Judy  only 
said  to  me  :  "Miss,  I  wash  me  han'  of  de  boy,  now ;  me  heart 
is  broke." 

It  was  pathetic  in  the  extreme.  I  tried  to  encourage 
Punch  to  do  some  work  and  pay  me  in  that  way,  as  he  had 
promised,  but  in  vain.  I  needed  shingles  more  than  ever, 
but  with  all  my  efforts  he  still  owes  $10  on  this  last  debt. 
Now  he  came  to  tell  me  that  he  was  going  away.  He  put 
it  with  great  delicacy  and  began  by  saying,  "Miss,  I  dun'no 
how  'tis,  I  kyant  please  yo' ;  I  try  en  I  try,  en  somehow  I 
kayn't  cum  it.  Yo'  kno',  my  missis,  a  man  kayn't  do  mo' 
dan  'e  kin.     Man  p'int,  but  God  clisapp'int." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  this  new  version  of  "  L'homme 


138 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


propose,  et  Dieu  dispose."  "Oh,  Punch,"  I  said,  "I  think 
you  have  got  the  wrong  end  of  that.  I  think  in  this  case  it 
is  God  who  points  and  man  who  disappoints ;  but  certainly 
you  can  go,  only  you  must  do  something  to  pay  me  that  $10 
before  you  leave,  for  I  am  in  need  of  the  money,  and  I  have 
waited  on  you  as  long  as  I  possibly  can.  I  am  perfectly 
willing  to  take  the  shingles,  and  it  would 
not  take  you  long  to  pay  up  the  debt."  It 
was  in  vain,  unless  I  had  the  Sheriff  take 
his  cow,  which  I  could  not  bear  to  do.  He 
said  he  would  pay  it  by  degrees  next  year, 
<<  -  and  I  was  so  glad  to  have  him  go, 
&,  that  I  gave  up  the  effort  to  get 
anything  from  him. 
The  two  acres  of  cotton  he  rented 
were  very  near  the  field  I  planted. 
He  and  Judy  did  not  work  theirs, 
so  there  was  a  fine  field  of  grass 
and  weeds,  with  a  few  stalks  of  very 
tall  cotton.  Notwithstanding  the 
rarity  of  the  stalks  in  their  bed, 
day  after  day  I  met  Judy  com- 
ing out  of  her  patch  with  an  im- 
mense bundle  of  cotton  on  her  head.  Jim  would  grow  furious 
when  we  met  her,  and  now  and  then  break  out :  "I  work  yo' 
cotton  an'  keep  it  so  clean,  f'r  Punch  pick."  There  is  no 
doubt  that  he  was  right,  but  no  one  could  ever  catch  Judy 
anywhere  but  in  her  own  patch,  where  the  same  few  bolls  of 
cotton  showed  out  every  day.  Jim  begged  me  to  send  them 
off  before  another  crop  season,  so  I  am  glad  to  have  them  go, 

only  I  do  wish  I  could  have  got  my  money. 

December  17. 

The  Zs  getting  on  finely.     She  is  a  wonderfully  capable 
woman,  and  I  think  a  very  nice  one.     She  seems  so  pleased 


Day  after  day  I  met  Judy 
coming  out  of  her  patch. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  139 

to  be  in  the  country  again  and  is  eager  to  take  the  milking 
—  wants  me  to  send  off  Gibby  and  let  her  milk. 

I  told  her  that  she  could  take  the  Guernsey  cow  up, 
that  as  soon  as  the  calf  got  big  Gibby  said  she  was  dry  and 
he  could  not  get  any  milk,  but  that  I  knew  it  was  only  be- 
cause he  was  a  poor  milker,  and  I  would  be  delighted  if  she 
would  feed  her  well  and  milk  her ;  I  knew  she  could  bring  back 
the  milk.     She  did  not  seem  very  pleased,  but  consented. 

She  is  evidently  not  a  strong  woman,  and  if  a  bad  spell 
of  weather  should  come  she  could  not  go  out  to  milk,  and  I 
would  just  be  left  milkless.  Better  go  slowly,  I  think,  and 
not  upset  things. 

I  told  Chloe  to  give  them  a  pint  of  milk  every  morning 
and  every  evening.  The  cows  are  not  giving  much,  but  then 
I  am  not  feeding  them  as  I  usually  do. 

The  stringency  in  the  money  market  affects  everything. 
There  is  no  sale  for  anything  —  cotton,  cattle,  horses  —  I 
have  tried  to  sell  anything  and  everything,  but  in  vain. 

December  20. 

To-day  I  signed  a  contract  with  Mr.  Z.  which  I  got  a 
lawyer  to  draw  up.  He  has  been  very  anxious  about  the 
signing  before  this,  but  I  thought  there  was  no  great  hurry. 

He  and  his  wife  have  been  very  diligent,  working  early 
and  late,  setting  out  a  new  strawberry  bed  and  getting  land 
ready  for  other  things.  She  has  planted  celery  very  success- 
fully and  says  this  land  is  just  suited  for  it,  and  wants  to 
try  a  quarter  of  an  acre  in  it.  They  are  charmed  with  the 
ever  flowing  artesian  well  and  are  arranging  little  ditches  to 
irrigate  in  dry  weather.  Altogether  I  feel  so  peaceful  and 
content  that  it  is  hard  to  write  regularly. 

Christmas  Night. 
Had  a  peaceful,  happy  day,  many  loving  tokens  of  the 
blessed  season  of  good- will.     It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  make 


140  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  darkies  happy  with  small  presents  and  I  included  the  Zs 
in  my  offerings  of  good- will. 

Besides  many  little  things  to  eat  I  presented  them  with  a 
pair  of  Plymouth  rocks,  a  beautiful  pullet  and  cock,  as  they 
are  anxious  to  start  a  poultry  yard.  This  afternoon  she  came 
in  with  an  offering  for  me,  a  necklace  of  fish  scale  flowers 
made  by  herself,  which  she  had  told  me  the  other  day  she 
sold  for  50  cents. 

I  was  quite  touched  by  it  and  by  her  happiness  over  the 
fowls.  Altogether  I  feel  very  thankful  that  I  have  found 
such  satisfactory  people.  He  talked  to  me  a  great  deal 
to-day  and  said  he  would  give  $1000  if  he  could  get  rid  of  his 
evil  temper.  I  told  him  a  thousand  prayers  would  perhaps 
accomplish  his  desire  better  than  the  same  number  of  dollars. 
He  went  on  :  — ■ 

"I've  been  a  powerful  wicked  man.  I've  shot  two  men 
an'  been  shot  twice  myself  and  I've  stabbed  one  man  nine 
times  and  been  all  cut  to  pieces  myself,  but  for  two  years 
now,  since  I  met  this  wife,  I've  quit  drinkin'  an'  I'm  tryin'  to 
live  a  good  life." 

I  told  him  I  felt  quite  sure  if  he  earnestly  tried  he  would 
succeed  and  that  I  would  do  all  I  could  to  help  him.  I  felt 
a  little  disturbed  for  a  moment,  but  a  full  confession  of  one's 
sin  is  often  the  beginning  of  a  new  life,  and  the  idea  of  helping 
a  man  to  a  higher,  better  life  adds  a  new  interest  to  the 
experiment. 

January  1. 

Sat  up  last  night  to  see  the  old  year  out,  the  year  which 
has  brought  us  sorrow  and  distress,  yet  there  is  great  sadness 
in  seeing  it  go.  In  the  last  moments  of  the  dying  year  I  sank 
on  my  knees  and  prayed  that  this  whole  land  might  be  blessed 
and  guided  through  the  coming  year. 

The  day  is  brilliantly  beautiful  and  we  went  to  our  simple 
little  service  in  Peaceville.     Dear,  frail  Mrs.  F.  had  made  a 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  141 

great  effort  to  get  to  church  "to  return  thanks  for  her  many 
blessings."  Eighty-five  years  have  passed  over  her,  the 
first  half  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences 
that  money  can  give.  She  now  has  the  bare  necessities  of 
life,  no  cook  and  none  of  the  conveniences  of  modern  houses 
that  make  cooking  easy.  She  is  always  cheerful,  always 
dainty  and  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  one  never  hears  of  what 
she  lacks  or  needs,  nor  of  the  possessions  of  the  past. 

To-night  Chloe  came  to  tell  me  Elihu  is  very  sick  with 
pain  in  his  side.  I  sent  her  out  at  once  with  some  tea  and 
milk,  a  mustard  plaster  I  made,  and  told  her  to  see  it  put  on. 
She  is  always  so  good  and  willing.  Though  it  was  9  o'clock 
and  quite  a  walk  to  Elihu's  house,  she  went  cheerfully. 
They  never  have  anything  prepared  for  sickness.  There  is 
a  great  deal  of  pneumonia  about  and  I  want  to  take  Elihu's 
case  in  time.  With  all  his  faults  he  is  one  of  the  best  men 
on  the  place. 

January    4. 

I  am  puzzled  beyond  measure  to  know  what  to  do  for 
another  year.  It  is  impossible  to  go  on  planting  rice  if  it  is 
to  sell  at  40  cents  per  bushel.  It  is  an  expensive  crop,  and  if 
one  borrows  money,  as  I  did  last  year,  at  a  high  rate  of  in- 
terest, and  puts  a  mortgage  on  the  plantation,  it  very  soon 
means  ruin.  I  have  no  idea  how  I  am  to  pay  off  that  mort- 
gage of  $1000  this  year,  but  hope  the  bank  will  be  willing  to 
renew. 

Instead  of  being  anxious  to  have  the  usual  first  of  January 
powwow  over,  as  I  generally  am,  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  put 
it  off,  for  how  can  one  do  one's  share  in  a  powwow  when  one 
does  not  know  what  to  say  ?  I  have  absolutely  nothing  to 
propose.  As  far  as  my  seed  rice  will  go  I  will  rent  rice  land 
to  the  negroes,  and  if  I  had  money  of  my  own  I  would  go  on 
and  plant,  for  it  seems  to  me  the  complete  giving  up  of  the 
staple  industry  in   a  country  is  really  a  revolution.     Our 


142  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

labor  understands  no  other  cultivation ;  the  whole  population 
lives  on  rice,  white  and  black,  especially  black.  It  is  a 
wonderfully  nutritious  and  sustaining  food,  and  if  suddenly 
its  cultivation  ceases  there  will  be  much  suffering.  Our 
cattle  live  on  the  straw,  it  being  the  strongest  and  most 
palatable  of  the  straws.  My  horses  will  not  touch  fresh  oat 
straw  while  there  is  a  wisp  of  old  rice  straw  to  be  had ;  the 
cows  and  pigs  are  fed  on  the  flour,  a  gray  substance  that 
comes  from  the  grain  as  the  chaff  is  removed  in  the  pounding 
mill.  Mr.  Studebake,  a  great  Hereford  cattle  man,  told  me 
that  rice  flour  and  pea-vine  hay  make  a  perfect  ration  for 
cows,  one  supplying  exactly  what  the  other  lacks.  If  rice  is 
given  up  the  cattle  and  pigs  will  have  to  go  too. 

January   10. 

To-day  I  went  down  to  Casa  Bianca  to  receive  Marcus's 
resignation  of  his  place  as  foreman.  He  is  going  to  move 
"to  town,"  to  enjoy  the  money  he  has  made  in  my  service 
and  planting  rice.  He  has  bought  land  there  and  built  four 
houses,  which  he  rents  out.  He  is  a  preacher,  or,  as  he  says, 
"an  ordain  minister."  I  have  Avondered  he  stayed  these 
last  few  years,  but  he  has  made  so  good  an  income  that  his 
wife  was  willing  to  forego  the  joys  of  the  town ;  he  owns  a 
horse  and  buggy,  three  very  fine  cows  and  calves,  and  three 
splendid  oxen. 

I  feel  very  sad  at  parting  with  him ;  he  has  been  here  so 
long,  and  as  foreman  he  has  been  most  satisfactory  in  every 
way.  When  he  turned  over  the  keys  of  the  barn  to  me  I 
almost  broke  down,  for  I  hate  change  anyway,  and  I  really 
do  not  know  to  whom  I  can  give  the  keys. 

King  came  to  beg  me  to  give  him  a  house.  He  is  absolutely 
worthless  and  unreliable,  but  he  spoke  of  his  large  family 
and  how  necessary  it  was  for  him  to  get  where  he  could 
pursue  his  business  of  shackling,  and  Casa  Bianca  was  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  143 

very  best  pitch  of  tide  for  the  shad  fishing.  He  gave  me  an 
idea,  and  I  told  him  he  could  have  the  house  if  he  would  give 
me  two  shad  a  week  during  the  shad  season,  two  and  a  half 
months.  This  he  most  willingly  agreed  to  do.  I  never  have 
been  able  to  get  any  tribute  at  all  from  the  shad  nets,  which 
are  set  in  front  of  my  doors  all  winter.  Five  or  six  men  shad 
there  regularly,  but  they  elude  all  demands,  and  I  rarely  eat 
a  shad,  as  they  are  too  great  a  luxury  for  me  to  buy  unless  I 
have  company ;  they  are  like  the  wild  ducks  which  swarm  in 
the  rice  fields  at  night  in  the  winter,  "so  near  and  yet  so 
far." 

After  much  thought  and  uncertainty  I  decided  to  give  the 
keys  to  Nat ;  he  is  willing  and  knows  all  the  sheep  and  cattle 
well,  and  on  the  whole  is  the  best  one  on  the  place.  It  is  a 
mere  form,  for  there  is  nothing  left  in  the  barn,  but  Nat  is 
very  proud  and  happy  and  the  other  men  very  sulky. 

January  12. 

Caesar  came  up  from  Casa  Bianca  with  Jonas  and  King  to 
say  they  could  not  stand  Nat  as  head  man  and  to  indicate 
that  he,  Csesar,  was  the  man  for  the  place.  I  said  to  them : 
"Do  you  know  why  I  chose  Nat?  I  looked  over  my  book 
and  found  he  was  the  only  man  who  for  years  has  paid  his 
debts  to  me.  Every  one  else  on  the  place  has  borrowed 
money  when  in  distress,  or  got  a  cow  from  me  on  time  and 
left  the  debt  hanging,  in  spite  of  my  reminding  them  from 
time  to  time  that  I  needed  the  money ;  but  every  time  Nat 
has  borrowed  money  from  me  or  bought  an  ox  he  has  paid 
up  promptly  as  soon  as  his  crop  came  in.  Now,  this  shows 
fidelity  and  honesty,  and,  therefore,  I  have  given  the  keys  to 
Nat,  and  if  you  do  not  like  it  you  can  all  leave." 

They  were  dumb  at  this.  Then  I  asked  each  one  how  much 
he  owed  me,  bringing  out  my  book  to  verify.  Not  one  owes 
less  than  $8,  which  they  have  owed  over  a  year.     "Now," 


144 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


I  said,  "don't  you  think  I  had  good  reason  for  choosing  Nat 
to  carry  the  keys?"     They  looked  sheepish  and  departed. 


Cherokee,  January  13. 

Last  night  at  2  o'clock  Chloe  woke  me  to  say  Mrs.  Z.  was 
very  ill  and  Mr.  Z.  wanted  a  horse  to  go  for  the  doctor.  She 
had  sent  Dab  to  wake  Gibby  to  go  for  old  Florinda,  the  plan- 
tation nurse,  spoken  of  as  the  "Mid"  or  the  "Granny,"  who 
lives  some  distance  off  across  a  creek.  I  told  her  Mr.  Z. 
could  take  Nana  to  go  for  the  doctor. 

I  dressed  rapidly  and  came  down.     Mrs.  Z.'s  face  was 
crimson  and  she  seemed  unconscious.     He  was  bending  over 
her  crying  like  a  child  and  wailing  out  all  the  time, 
"0  God,  help  her  !     I  know  I'm  wicked,  but  spare 
her!"     It  was  distressing. 

Chloe  was  bathing  her  feet  in  hot  water  and  doing 
all  she  could.  I  rubbed  her  for  two  hours  and  ap- 
plied mustard  until  the  nurse  came,  and 
about  daylight  she  seemed  relieved.  I 
had  not  seen  how  the  nurse  could  be 
got,  but  Dab's  account  was  exciting. 
__ _^  He  with  difficulty  woke  Gibby, 
who  when  he  heard  there  was  sick- 
.,„*«;»  ness  at  the  "big  house"  got  up 
quickly  and  they  went  together 
to  the  edge  of  the  creek,  where 
they  shouted  and  knocked  on  a 
big  cypress  tree  with  sticks  until  the  old  woman  came  out  of 
the  house  down  to  the  edge  of  the  creek,  on  the  other  side. 
When  she  understood  it  was  sickness  at  the  "big  house"  she 
jumped  into  her  paddling  boat  which  was  tied  there  and  with- 
out going  back  into  the  house  paddled  herself  across,  and 
when  she  landed,  Dab  said  "she  tie  up  her  coat  to  her  knee  an' 
start  to  walk  so  fast  that  Gibby  en  me  had  to  run  to  keep  up." 


"  Old  Florinda,  the  plan- 
tation nurse." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  145 

This  is  an  old  time  plantation  sick  nurse,  who,  though  now 
very  old,  flies  to  relieve  the  sick  with  enthusiasm.  She 
brought  herbs  with  her  and  soon  relieved  the  patient.  This 
morning  I  lent  the  horse  and  buggy  to  Mr.  Z.  to  go  down  to 
Gregory  and  consult  the  doctor. 

January  14. 

Last  night  Mr.  Z.  came  to  ask  me  to  lend  him  a  lantern 
every  evening.  I  said  I  would  with  pleasure.  He  said  he 
wanted  to  pull  corn  stalks  at  night,  that  Maud,  his  wife,  could 
do  it  two  hours  every  night  and  not  waste  daylight  on  it. 

I  said  I  thought  if  he  worked  all  day  it  would  be  as  much 
as  he  could  clo,  but  he  could  always  get  the  lantern.  He 
went  on  in  a  conversational  way  to  say :  — 

"I've  got  a  fine  burn  on  them  piles  o'  trash." 

"I  hope  it  is  well  out,  Mr.  Z.  There  is  such  a  gale  it  is  no 
time  for  burning  trash.     I  hope  you  saw  the  fire  entirely  out." 

"No,  Ma'am,"  he  said,  "I've  got  it  started  good,  an'  it's 
burnin'  fine." 

I  said  not  another  word,  but  flew  through  the  house  to  the 
pantry,  seized  the  lantern  and  called  to  Dab  to  follow  me. 
We  ran  at  full  speed  to  the  barn-yard,  where  not  200  feet 
from  the  threshing  mill  (which  cost  $5000)  and  four  large 
barns  three  bonfires  were  raging,  the  flames  and  sparks  whirl- 
ing and  licking  out  in  every  direction  up  to  high  heaven,  it 
seemed  to  me. 

There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  watch  until  the  piles 
burned  down.  Then  I  had  Dab  cover  the  lightwood  posts 
and  beams  which  Mr.  Z.  had  put  on  to  insure  a  good  burn, 
with  earth. 

If  I  could  have  got  at  other  hands  I  would  have  called  them, 
but  it  is  half  a  mile  to  the  "street,"  and  there  was  nothing  to 
do  but  help  Dab  myself  as  much  as  I  could.  I  had  sent 
him  for  hoe  and  spade  and  shovel,  and  he  worked  splendidly. 

Mr.  Z.  had  followed  me  down,  also  his  wife,  though  I 


146  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

begged  her  not  to  come  out,  having  been  so  ill  yesterday. 
He  would  not  help  in  any  way  to  put  out  the  fire  and  kept 
saying  the  wind  was  blowing  in  the  other  direction. 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "but  the  wind  does  not  take  long  to  shift, 
and  if  it  did  change  there  would  not  be  a  building  left  on  the 
place.     Dwelling-house  and  all  would  go." 

I  noticed  that  he  got  very  white  as  he  stood  and  watched 
me,  but  I  was  too  actively  employed  to  watch  him,  but  I 
thought  the  tears  were  running  down  his  cheeks  as  he  stood 
in  the  fierce  red  light.  Mrs.  Z.  hovered  around  a  while 
talking  to  him  in  a  low  tone  and  then  she  left. 

When  Dab  and  I  got  through  I  had  the  shovel  in  my  hand 
and  wanted  to  take  the  lantern.  I  handed  the  shovel  to  Mr. 
Z.,  saying,  "Will  you  take  the  shovel,  Mr.  Z.  ?" 

Fortunately,  I  had  the  full  light  of  the  lantern  on  his  face, 
and  I  was  shocked ;  he  did  not  move.  I  fixed  my  eyes  full 
upon  him  and  repeated,  "You  did  not  hear  me,  Mr.  Z. ;  will 
you  take  the  shovel  ?  " 

Slowly  he  put  out  his  hand  and  took  it.     I  still  fixed  him 

with  my  eye,  until  he  turned  and  walked  toward  the  house, 

and  I  followed  him.     Dab  had  gone  on  before.     It  was  11 

o'clock  when  I  got  back. 

January   16. 

Chloe  is  in  a  terrible  state  of  mind,  Mr.  Z.  has  frightened 
her  so.     Last  night  he  said  to  her  :  — 

"That  missis  of  yours  had  a  very  narrow  squeak  for  her 
life  last  night.  Twice  I  had  my  hand  raised  to  kill  her  and 
Miss  Z.  pulled  me  back,  en  at  last  when  she  handed  me  that 
shovel  an'  told  me  to  take  it  I  cum  as  near  killin'  her  right 
there  en  bury  in'  her  up  with  dirt  "with  that  same  shovel,  jest 
as  she  had  buried  up  my  fires,  as  I  ever  cum  to  anything  in 
my  life  — •  en  more  than  that,  if  she  goes  to  givin'  me  orders 
I'll  do  it  yet,  en  le'  me  tell  you  you'd  better  not  tell  her  this 
or  I'll  tackle  you.     I  don't  'low  people  to  fool  with  me." 


A    WOMAN  MICE  PLANTER  147 

Chloe  is  enough  of  an  actress  to  convince  him  that  her 

silence  was  assured.     I  thanked  her  for  her  confidence  and 

told  her  she  need  not  be  anxious.     The  fact  of  the  light  ena- 

)  bling  me  to  look  him  in  the  eye  had  saved  me,  and  the  danger 

was  past. 

January  17. 

Was  busy  by  the  smoke-house  this  morning  when  Mr.  Z. 
passed  by.  He  has  not  spoken  to  me  since  the  night  he  set 
the  fires  in  the  gale  of  wind  and  I  had  them  put  out.  He  has 
written  me  several  notes  demanding  things,  to  which  I  have 
sent  verbal  answers,  and  I  felt  it  was  time  to  put  a  stop  to 
that  sort  of  thing,  so  as  he  passed  I  said  in  a  clear,  loud 
voice  :  — ■ 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Z." 

I  was  bending  over  a  table  at  the  time,  brushing  off  the  hams 
preparatory  to  smoking  them.  He  took  no  notice  but  passed 
on  as  though  deaf.  I  straightened  up  and  said  again  in  a 
clear  voice  :  — • 

"Mr.  Z.,  you  did  not  perhaps  hear  me;  I  said  'Good 
morning.'" 

He  stopped  and  slowly  raised  his  hat,  said  good  morning 
and  passed  on,  and  I  knew  I  had  scored  another  victory. 

About  half  an  hour  afterward  he  came  back  and  said  he 
would  like  to  see  me  in  the  field  where  he  was  ploughing.  I 
told  him  I  would  be  at  leisure  in  a  minute  and  would  join 
him  in  the  field. 

I  went  in  to  get  my  coat  and  told  Chloe  where  I  was  going. 
She  implored  me  not  to  go,  but  I  soothed  her  fears,  trying  to 
laugh  her  out  of  them.  When  I  got  out  into  the  field  Mr.  Z. 
asked  me  some  trivial  questions  about  where  to  plant  things, 
and  then  he  said :  — 

"You  went  too  far  with  me  the  other  night,  Mrs.  Penning- 
ton." 

"Indeed?"  I  said. 


148  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

"Yes,"  he  said.     "You  told  me  I  had  no  sense." 

"I  certainly  didn't  tell  a  story,  Mr.  Z.,  if  I  said  so.  I 
thought  as  I  stood  there  and  saw  that  fire  swirling  around  in 
that  gale  that  I  had  never  seen  any  one  over  three  years  old 
do  a  more  foolish  thing." 

We  faced  each  other  squarely  for  a  moment.  "I  saw  mur- 
der in  your  eye,  but  I'm  not  afraid  of  wild  beasts." 

Gradually  his  face  relaxed  and  I  saw  the  demon  had  fled 
for  the  time,  but  it  was  exciting. 

After  this  he  talked  naturally  and  pleasantly  about  what 
he  was  going  to  plant.     As  I  left  I  said :  — 

"Remember,  you  can  plant  the  crops  where  and  how  you 
please,  I  don't  want  to  be  consulted  about  that,  you  under- 
stand it ;  but  never  set  a  fire  burning  without  asking  me." 

January  23. 

Yesterday  being  Sunday,  I  invited  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Z.  to 
come  in  and  have  service  with  me,  which  they  did.  They 
went  home  and  made  a  careful  toilet  and  returned  with 
Sunday  clothes,  and  hats,  and  kid  gloves  closely  buttoned.  I 
found  it  a  little  embarrassing  to  read  the  church  service,  but 
went  through  manfully,  and  a  short,  simple,  clever  sermon. 

Life  has  become  very  interesting  with  this  new  problem. 
I  told  Mr.  Z.  the  other  night  that  I  thought  he  had  better  go 
to  my  neighbor's  who  has  a  nice  house  in  the  pineland,  and 
that  I  thought  it  would  be  healthier  for  his  wife,  and  that  of 
course  we  could  break  the  contract  by  mutual  consent,  but 
he  answered  promptly  that  he  did  not  wish  to  go  anywhere 
else,  that  the  thirty  acres  he  had  taken  was  the  finest  land 
he  ever  saw  anywhere  and  he  was  going  to  make  a  pile  of 
money  for  me  and  a  pile  for  himself ;  he  had  been  all  over  my 
neighbor's  land  and  it  did  not  please  him  as  well. 

I  wrote  to  my  two  lawyer  nephews  a  full  account  of  what 
had  happened,  and  they  both  wrote,  "For  heaven's  sake, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  119 

break  the  contract !"  But  I  must  bide  my  time  to  do  that. 
The  arrangement  was  that  no  money  was  to  be  paid  at  pres- 
ent ;  all  that  I  owe  him  for  carpenter's  work  on  his  house 
was  to  be  taken  from  my  share  of  the  crop.  If  I  were  to 
break  the  contract  I  would  have  to  pay  him  all  that  at  once, 
and  I  have  not  the  money.  My  cotton  has  not  sold  and  there 
is  nothing  else  to  look  to. 

Ran  out  to  meet  mail  man  this  morning  to  get  a  letter  off 
and  found  that  his  horse  was  quite  sick  — ■  could  scarcely  walk. 
Sent  Dab  in  for  the  aconite  and  spoon  and  gave  the  horse  a 
full  dose,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  was  able  to  get  on  again. 

Have  had  twenty  cords  of  live  oak  cut  and  hauled  to  the 
river,  but  cannot  sell  it  in  Gregory,  as  I  hoped. 

January  28. 

Yesterday  had  Green  take  Dandy,  my  beautiful  pony, 
to  Mr.  F.  in  Gregory  to  be  sold.  If  I  can  sell  him  now,  I 
can  pay  my  taxes.  He  is  so  beautifully  formed  and  so  easily 
kept  and  so  gay  and  so  fond  of  me  that  it  is  a  great  trial  to 
send  him  off ;  he  would  make  a  splendid  polo  pony,  but  if 
I  can  make  him  pay  the  tax  I  must  do  it,  for  I  still  have  three 
grown  horses  and  two  colts. 

February  2. 

Up  till  1  o'clock  last  night  with  Mrs.  Z.  She  was  uncon- 
scious for  two  hours  and  pulseless  for  fifteen  minutes. 

It  is  dreadful,  I  said  to  myself  last  night  as  I  was  trying 
to  pour  brandy  down  her  throat  and  restore  her  to  life.  "  You 
poor  young  thing,  if  ever  you  get  up  again  I  will  try  to  get 
you  back  to  your  own  people."  She  has  four  married  sisters 
in  her  home,  wherever  that  may  be  ;  for  some  reason  they  do 
not  give  clear  information  as  to  where  they  came  from. 

February  13. 
Mrs.  Z.  told  me  that  she  wanted  to  go  home  and  Mr.  Z.  is 


150 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


)f 


willing  for  her  to  go,  but  will  not  go  himself,  and  she  is  not 
willing  to  leave  him.  She  knew  he  would  go  right  back  to 
drinking  and  killing  people,  both  of  which  amiable  Aveak- 
nesses  he  had  given  up  since  they  met. 

I  told  her  I  was  not  willing  to  have  him  stay  without  her, 
but  not  to  tell  him  that,  as  it  would  enrage  him ;    just  to 

_  stick  to  it  that  she  would  not 

leave  him.  She  gets  paler  and 
thinner  every  day,  and  I  know 
he  cannot  hold  out.  I  said  yes- 
terday if  I  only  had  the  money  to 
pay  him  up  in  full  I  would  pro- 
pose to  do  so  and  break  the  con- 
tract, and  Chloe  said  at  once  :  — ■ 
"Miss  Patience,  le'  me  len'  yer 
de  money.  Ef  yu  jes  send  me 
down  to  town  I  kin  git  um  from 
de  bank  fer  you.  Do  please, 
ma'am,  le'  dem  go." 

So  I  spoke  to  Mr.  Z.,  saying, 
though  it  was  most  inconvenient, 
if  he  wished  to  go  with  his  wife, 
which  was  most  necessary  in  her 
state  of  health,  I  would  consent  to  break  the  contract  and 
pay  him  the  $60  I  owed  him  for  work.  Most  reluctantly  he 
consented. 

I  sent  Chloe  to  Gregory  in  the  pony  carriage,  and  she 
brought  back  the  money.  I  wrote  a  note  for  it  at  6  per  cent, 
and  made  her  pin  it  in  her  bank-book  in  case  of  my  death. 


l-8.JU,.,S„ 


"  Miss  Patience,  le'  me 
len'  yer  de  money." 


February  16. 

Paid  Mr.  Z.  up  in  full  for  services  and  gave  him  a  note  for 

his  little  furniture,  and  bade  them  good-by,  sending  them  to 

Gregory  in  the  wagon  with  Nana.     I  felt  quite  sorry  to  part 

with  Mrs.  Z.     She  is  a  nice  woman,  and,  poor  thing,  married 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  151 

to  a  madman,  to  whom  she  is  devoted.  Thank  heaven  he  is 
going  and  that  we  part  friends.  My  experiment  of  white 
help  is  at  an  end  ! 

He  took  me  over  all  the  work  —  beautiful  strawberry  bed, 
with  potatoes  planted,  900  onions  set  out,  celery  bed  started, 
all  beautifully  prepared.  It  is  sad  to  think  it  will  soon  all  be 
grown  up  in  weeds.     I  must  take  up  my  burden  again. 

February  24. 
In  field  all  day ;    having  oats  ploughed  in ;    bitterly  cold 
north  wind  blowing. 

February  25. 

In  oat  field  again  all  day.  Gibby  ploughing  with  oxen 
and  Green  with  Nana. 

February  27. 

A  charming  meeting  here  of  the  woman's  auxiliary.  I 
went  out  to  the  oats  field  intending  to  get  back  before  12, 
the  hour  of  meeting,  but  Gibby  went  to  burn  up  some  patches 
of  cockspurs  and  let  the  fire  get  away  into  the  pasture,  which 
was  terrible.     I  had  to  stay  and  fight  it. 

I  made  Green  take  his  plough  and  make  a  deep  furrow 
ahead  of  the  fire  round  in  a  large  curve  and  had  the  women 
beat  it  out  on  the  sides. 

While  I  was  busy  with  hands  and  face  blackened  Dab 
came  running  to  tell  me  the  "company  had  come"  so  that 
I  had  to  rush  home  and  make  a  very  hurried  toilet  to  open 
the  meeting.  We  are  to  sew  for  an  Easter  box  to  be  sent  to 
the  mountains  of  North  Carolina. 

February  26. 

At  church  to-day  Miss  E.  came  up  and  said:  "Miss 
Patience,  going  to  take  any  one  home  with  you  to-day?" 

I  said  "no." 

"Well,  then,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  take  me  to  spend 
the  night.     I  haven't  seen  you  for  so  long." 


152  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"With  the  very  greatest  pleasure,"  I  answered  truth- 
fully. 

Miss  E.  is  one  of  the  best  women  that  ever  lived  and  the 
very  best  housekeeper  to  boot.  She  knows  exactly  how  much 
to  provide  for  a  family  of  four  without  waste  and  yet  abun- 
dantly, and  she  can  arrange  for  a  table  of  seventy-five  with 
the  same  precision ;  abundance  of  excellent  food  and  no 
waste.  With  such  qualities  it  seems  strange  that  she  should 
have  now  only  the  position  of  what  Chloe  calls  " sextant"  to 
our  little  village  church,  and  her  modest  remuneration  of 
two  dollars  a  month  is  all  that  she  has  in  the  world. 

She  was  a  woman  of  wealth,  but,  like  so  many  others,  her 
means  all  disappeared  with  the  end  of  the  war,  and  she  has 
supported  herself  by  sewing  and  taking  places  as  housekeeper 
for  a  number  of  years.  Now  she  begins  to  show  the  ravages 
of  time  and  does  not  feel  she  can  do  all  that  a  housekeeper 
should,  and  for  the  last  six  years  has  lived  in  Peaceville,  where 
she  had  nieces  who  are  devotedly  kind  to  her,  but  she  will 
not  live  with  them.  She  lives  alone  in  a  house  which  be- 
longed to  her  mother  and  where  her  summers  were  spent  in 
her  youth.  It  has  passed  into  other  hands,  but  she  is  al- 
lowed to  stay  there  in  the  winter  as  the  house  is  only  rented 
in  summer. 

It  is  very  near  the  church,  and  she  is  very  happy  and  a 
marvel  of  cheerfulness  and  faith  — •  no  repining,  no  complain- 
ing. She  sometimes  takes  in  a  little  sewing  still,  but  for 
absurdly  small  prices. 

Miss  E.  is  a  walking  chronicle  of  the  ancestry  of  every  one 
in  the  county,  I  might  almost  say  in  the  low  country,  as  the 
coast  is  called  in  this  State,  and  can  tell  you  who  is  who  em- 
phatically. I  enjoyed  having  my  memory  refreshed  on 
many  genealogical  facts,  as  I  am  very  weak  in  that  quarter. 
I  am  really  devoted  to  this  dear  old  lady  and  feel  it  a  privi- 
lege to  have  her  with  me. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  153 

February  27. 
Drove  Miss  E.  home  and  then  began  preparing  for  the 

paying  guests,  who  arrived  at  2. 

March  2. 

Finished  planting  oats  at  last.  I  have  spent  every  day 
in  the  field  for  nearly  two  weeks  —  the  last  few  days  a  joy  — ■ 
just  drinking  in  the  delicious  soft  air  and  watching  the  buds 
which  promise  so  much. 

There  is  a  mystery  of  hope  over  everything,  the  rest  of 

the  ideal,  and  as  I  sat  on  a  cedar  trunk  to-day  and  looked 

out  into  the  drowsy  blue  of  the  atmosphere  I  felt  a  sense  of 

gratitude  to  the  Great  Maker  and  Giver  of  all  this  beauty  — 

thankful  for  my  blessings ;    the  great  blessing  of  space  and 

freedom  and  closeness  to  nature  —  yes,  and  thankful  for  my 

limitations,  my  sorrows,  my  privations.     Thankful  that  He 

has  thought  me  worthy  to  suffer  and  has  taught  me  to  be 

strong.     He  is  beauty  and  power  and  love  illimitable  and 

infinite. 

March  13. 

Jim  summoned  to  Gregory  by  the  extreme  illness  of  his 
wife,  and  I  have  to  turn  over  the  stable  and  cows  to  poor 
Elihu,  who  can't  help  taking  the  feed  and  the  milk  and  is  the 
poorest  driver  in  the  world ;  always  touches  up  the  horse 
that  is  pulling  all  the  load ;  yet  I  am  thankful  to  have  him  to 
fall  back  on.  The  storm  last  fall  threw  down  all  the  pine 
trees  on  my  350  acres  of  woodland  and  the  e  are  several 
thousand  cords  of  pine  wood  lying  on  the  ground  which  I  am 
trying  to  get  cut  and  shipped.  It  has  been  the  habit  of  many 
to  sell  the  wood  to  negroes  at  the  stump,  as  they  call  it,  for 
25  cents  a  cord.  This  I  am  not  willing  to  do,  and  conse- 
quently find  it  very  difficult  to  get  the  wood  cut.  I  pay  40 
cents  a  cord  for  cutting,  30  cents  a  cord  for  hauling,  and  about 
30  cents  for  flatting,  and  the  wood  brings  SI. 50  a  cord  if  it 
is  pine,  and  $2  if  it  is  lightwood. 


154  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

The  hands  are  needing  work.  I  have  ten  men  on  Cherokee, 
and  if  they  would  work  I  would  have  money  for  all  my  needs 
and  their  families  would  live  in  abundant  comfort.  There 
is  no  felling  of  trees  necessary.  They  are  all  lying  prostrate ; 
it  is  only  to  cut  them  up,  and  the  hauling  is  only  one-quarter 
to  one-half  mile  to  the  landing ;  yet  clay  after  day  the  .hands 
are  loafing  about  the  roads,  with  guns  on  their  shoulders  and 
hide  when  they  see  me  coming.  If  I  come  up  on  one  un- 
expectedly he  is  very  polite  and  has  some  tale  of  fever  all 
night  or  a  sprained  finger  or  a  headache  to  explain  his  not 
working  at  the  wood. 

March  1G. 

Rode  out  into  the  woods  on  horseback  with  surveyor  to 
get  the  lines  of  my  land  marked  distinctly,  as  all  the  large 
timber  is  being  stolen  from  it  by  negroes  who  own  lands 
adjoining.  It  is  terrible  to  see  the  trees  all  lying  on  the 
ground  lapped  and  interlaced  so  that  it  is  hard  to  get  through 
on  horseback. 

March  18. 

Went  out  to  see  the  wood  which  has  been  measured  and  is 
ready  to  send  off. 

March  21. 

Gog  and  Gabe  have  the  79  flat  loaded  and  have  sent 
Elihu  with  them  in  charge  of  flat ;  they  must  leave  on  this 
afternoon's  ebb-tide.  I  first  told  Cubby  to  go  with  the  flat, 
and  he  made  objections  and  I  got  very  angry  and  told  him 
instead  to  take  Sarah  up  the  creek  to  the  landing  to  be  loaded 
to-morrow. 

March  22. 

This  morning  a  huge  lighter  arrived,  sent  by  Mr.  L.  for 
me  to  load  with  wood,  but  it  could  not  get  under  the  bridge 
until  low  water.  Had  Scipio  paddle  me  up  the  creek  to 
the  landing  to  see  the  flat  being  loaded.  Cubby  and  Sam 
were  loading  and  they  will  get  off  on  this  evening's  tide. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  155 

The  creek  is  very  wild  looking ;  great  trees  on  each  side  cast 
a  dense  shadow  everywhere.  Hearing  a  curious  noise  of 
floundering  I  saw  a  large  alligator  crawling  through  the  mud 
on  the  edge.  He  had  gone  quite  a  distance  from  the  water 
in  his  effort  to  get  the  sun,  and  I  had  a  fine  view  of  him  before 
he  plunged  in  again.  They  make  for  the  water  as  soon  as 
they  hear  a  boat  approaching.  I  saw  him  again  as  I  came 
back,  only  for  one  second,  but  I  saw  a  number  of  terrapin 
sunning  themselves  on  logs.  They  stretch  their  long  necks 
and  peer  with  their  beady  black  eyes  until  the  boat  gets 
quite  close  to  them  and  then  drop  into  the  water  like  a  stone 
with  a  great  splash. 

About  a  month  ago  I  got  a  note  from  Mr.  L.  asking  me  to 
allow  four  negro  men  to  cut  100  cords  of  wood  on  my  land 
and  he  would  be  responsible  for  the  money,  $25.  I  sent  word 
that  I  would  undertake  to  have  the  wood  cut  for  him  myself 
with  pleasure,  but  would  not  sell  it  for  25  cents  per  cord  at 
the  stump.  I  heard  afterward  that  a  neighbor  had  sold  them 
the  right  to  cut  on  their  land,  and  when  I  went  to  the  landing 
to-day  I  saw  about  fifty  cords  of  the  wood  they  had  cut  piled 
there,  and  it  was  the  most  splendid  fat  lightwoocl  I  ever  saw, 
from  trees  that  had  been  growing  on  that  land  sixty  or  seventy 
years.  And  the  owner  gets  25  cents  a  cord,  while  the  wood 
brings   $2   anywhere. 

March  23. 

Late  this  afternoon  I  went  up  the  creek  to  see  the  flat 
that  Cubby  is  loading  with  wood.  The  creek  seemed  darker 
and  more  mysterious  than  ever,  as  the  clouds  were  lowering 
and  there  were  mutterings  of  thunder.  The  air  was  per- 
fectly delightful,  fresh  from  the  sea. 

I  enjoyed  the  expedition  immensely  until  the  storm  burst, 
and  then  Gabriel  was  unable  to  manage  the  boat  at  all,  the 
wind  was  so  high.  I  had  to  get  him  to  retreat  to  a  cove  and 
put  me  out,  and  I  walked  home  in  a  pouring  rain,  thunder, 


156  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

lightning  fierce,  and  wind  so  high  that  it  was  impossible  to 

hold  an  umbrella.     I  am  very  thankful  the  loaded  flat  is  up 

the  creek  and  not  out  on  the  river.     To-day  my  new  venture 

arrived  —  an  incubator.     I  do  not  see  why  we  could  not 

operate  poultry  farms  with  success  here,  and  will  give  it  a 

trial  at  any  rate. 

April  3. 

Letter  from  Mr.  L.  says  the  wood  sent  in  three  flats  only 
measures  up  thirty-three  cords,  when  I  paid  the  hands  for 
cutting  and  hauling  forty  cords.  Fortunately  I  reserved 
some  money  from  each  one  until  the  wood  should  be  de- 
livered ;  but  another  time  I  will  not  take  any  one's  measure- 
ment but  Mr.  L.'s,  for  after  it  is  measured  each  man  carries 
home  five  or  six  logs  every  evening  in  his  ox  cart,  and  natu- 
rally the  wood  falls  short  when  delivered.  I  had  to  do  an 
immense  deal  of  rule  of  three  calculating  to  find  out  just  how 
to  divide  the  shortage  among  them,  but  succeeded  to  every 
one's  satisfaction.  Live  and  learn  —  I  will  not  get  caught  so 
again.  I  spent  the  morning  working  in  the  negro  burying 
ground.  Storms  have  thrown  down  trees  in  every  direction, 
and  though  all  the  descendants  of  the  600  who  belonged  to 
my  father  wish  to  be  buried  here,  not  one  is  willing  to  do  a 
stroke  of  work  beyond  digging  the  grave  he  is  interested  in. 

I  have  told  the  heads  of  families  that  if  they  will  each  give 
25  cents,  which  will  make  enough  to  pay  for  a  good  wire,  I 
will  furnish  posts  and  have  the  fence  put  up.  They  seem 
much  pleased  at  the  idea,  but  I  fear  it  will  end  there. 

I  am  glad  the  two  marble  monuments  put  up  by  my  father 
in  memory  of  faithful  servants  before  I  was  born  have  thus 
far  escaped  injury  and  still  tell  their  message  of  love  and  fidel- 
ity in  master  and  servant.  The  wording  is  odd,  but  I  think 
it  is  a  beautiful  voice  from  the  past,  that  past  which  has 
been  painted  in  such  black  colors.  Here  is  the  first  inscrip- 
tion :  — ■ 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  157 

In  Memory  of 

Joe  of  Warhees, 

Who  with  fidelity  served 

My  Grandfather 

Wm  Allston  Sen'r 

My  Father 

Benj  Allston  and  Me 

Grateful 

Whose  Confidence  and 

Respect  He  had 

1840 

This  was  certainly  not  the  gratitude  which  La  Roche- 
foucauld dubbed  "a  keen  sense  of  favors  to  come."  The 
other  reads :  — 

In  Memory 

of 

My  Servant  Thomas, 

Carpenter. 

Honest  and  True 

He  died  as  for  40  years 

He  had  lived 

My  Faithful  Friend 

1850 

It  is  remarkable  that  my  father  did  not  put  his  name, 
R.  F.  W.  Allston,  to  show  who  had  so  honored  and  remem- 
bered his  faithful  slaves ;  in  another  generation  no  one  will 
know.     He  was  Governor  of  South  Carolina  in  1857-1858. 

Good  little  Estelle  died  yesterday  and  is  to  be  buried  this 
afternoon,  and  it  was  looking  to  her  funeral  that  I  walked 
through  the  beautiful  spot  to-clay,  and  finding  so  many 
fallen  trees  I  called  Frank  to  come  with  his  axe  and  clear  it 
out  a  little.  I  can  ill  afford  to  pay  for  the  day's  work,  but 
cannot  bear  to  have  it  look  so  wild  and  unkept. 

April  4. 

A  perfect  day.  Last  night  was  so  cold  that  the  water- 
melons, which  were  up  and  growing  nicely  in  the  little  boxes 
ready  to  be  set  out,  were  nipped. 


158  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

Chloe  returned  last  evening  from  Estelle's  funeral  in  a  state 
of  exaltation.  The  preacher  had  described  her  death,  and 
it  was  glorious.  He  repeated  the  words  she  had  said  :  "Yes, 
I'm  goin',  don't  fret.  I'm  all  paid  up  fur  ebryting.  I  got 
um  here,  right  by  me,  a  bag  o'  pure  gold  on  one  side  o'  me  — 
en  Jesus  Christ  on  de  oder  —  en  now  I'm  gwine  to  de  weddin' 
supper." 

Then  she  asked  him  to  read  a  certain  chapter  and  at  the  end 
of  each  verse  she  said:  "Dat's  it,  tenk  yu,  sah,"  and  when 
the  reading  was  ended  she  went  to  sleep. 

Estelle  had  been  our  maid  for  five  years  and  only  left 
us  to  be  married  —  a  good  match  according  to  their  ideas. 
She  had  a  new  baby  every  year  and  worked  very  hard.  She 
grew  blacker  and  thinner,  until  early  this  spring  she  took  to 
bed.  Though  scarcely  thirty  I  think,  she  leaves  five  living 
children  and  three  lie  in  the  graveyard  beside  her. 

I  never  could  get  her  to  do  anything  in  the  house  after  her 
marriage,  though  it  would  have  been  much  easier  for  her  to 
take  the  lighter  housework  and  with  the  money  hire  some  one 
to  do  the  heavier  field  work.  But  that  is  not  the  proper 
thing  among  the  darkies  of  to-day. 

A  woman  may  work  herself  to  death  in  her  husband's  field, 
wash,  cook,  scour,  mend,  patch,  keep  house,  and  receive 
gratefully  any  small  sums  her  husband  may  give  her,  always 
answering  "Sir"  when  he  speaks  to  her,  above  all  increase 
the  population  yearly  —  all  this  is  her  duty,  but  it  is  improper 
for  her  to  take  any  service  like  housework.  And  so  all 
Estelle's  little  accomplishments  and  skill  were  wasted,  except 
the  sewing  which  I  had  taught  her  and  that  showed  in  the 
neat,  trim  looking  clothes  of  her  little  army  of  children.  I 
think  she  has  heard  the  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, .  .  .  faithful   over  a  few   things." 

To-day  two  friends  of  mine  were  to  drive  fourteen  miles 
to  spend  the  morning  with  me.     As  Dab  is  strangely  agi- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


159 


tated  and  upset  by  any  addition  to  my  solitary  meals,  I 
helped  him  prepare  the  lunch  table  before  they  arrived. 

It  looked  very  pretty  and  dainty,  but  I  saw  marks  of  fingers 
on  my  precious  hundred  and  fifty-year-old  urn-shaped  silver 
sugar  dish,  so  I  told  Dab  to  dip  it  in  hot  water  and  rub  it 
dry  with  a  cotton  flannel  cloth  to  remove  the  marks  of  his 
fingers.  He  was  gone  in  the  pantry  longer  than  seemed  to  me 
necessary,  so  I  followed  him  there.  To  my  dismay  the  sugar 
dish  which  he  held  in  his  hand  looked  , 
as  though  he  had  greased  it  thoroughly. 

"Oh,  Dab  !"  I  cried.     "What  have 
you  done?" 

He  looked  at  me,  his  face  beaming 
with  pride  in  his  work,  and  an- 
swered :  —  ,c; 

"I  jus'  shinin'  um  up  wid  de     .-./,    ^ 
knife-brick!"  r 

Words  failed  me  as  I  took  the 
precious  thing  in  my  hands,  but      "^ 
when  I  had  recovered  a  little  I  said  : 
"Dab,  twenty  dollars  could  not  undo 
the  work  of  those  five  minutes  —  no, 
not  fifty  dollars  !" 

I  dipped  it  into  the  pan  of  scalding  water  and  wiped  it 
dry,  but  alas  !  no  change.  Actually  the  beautiful  engraving 
of  little  garlands  of  roses  looped  around  the  top  was  almost 
effaced,  so  vigorously  had  Dab  employed  those  few  moments. 

Alas  !  alas  !  zeal  without  knowledge  is  a  terrible  thing. 
Poor  Dab  cannot  possibly  do  just  what  he  is  told ;  he  has  to 
plan  some  original   course  for  himself. 

I  went  to  meet  my  friend  unduly  agitated  and  upset 
by  the  circumstance,  but  was  careful  not  to  speak  of  it.  I 
can  bear  things  so  much  better  if  I  do  not  mention  them  to 
any  one  until  the  pang  is  all  gone.     That  is  why  this  little 


'  Jus'    shinin'  um  up 
wid  de  knife-brick." 


160  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

diary  is  so  much  to  me.  I  can  explode  into  it,  and  then  shut 
my  teeth  and  bear  things. 

Unpacked  the  incubator  to-day  with  Bonaparte's  help 
and  began  to  study  its  mysteries.  We  had  a  time  getting 
things  right,  for  he  has  never  seen  or  dreamed  of  an  incubator, 
and  disapproves  entirely  of  the  effort  to  take  away  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  hen  and  defeat  nature,  so  that  his  manner 
was  disapproving,  not  to  say  forbidding.  My  good  Chloe, 
too,  feels  that  for  some  unknown  reason  the  Great  Father 
has  given  me  over  to  the  temptation  of  the  Evil  One,  and 
walks  past  the  "'cubator,"  as  she  calls  it,  with  head  high  and 
firm  tread;  her  manner  is  what  the  "nigs"  call  "stiff"  — 
that  means  distinctly  rebellious  and  unconvinced.  I  had 
only  seen  an  incubator  myself  for  five  minutes  under  the 
rapid  flow  of  words  from  the  young  man  exhibiting  it,  words 
of  fervid  praise  and  faith  which  left  me  somewhat  vague  and 
confused  as  to  details,  for  it  was  just  in  a  shop  and  not  work- 
ing. 

I  calculated  when  I  bought  it  that  I  would  have  time  to 

try  my  'prentice  hand  with  fowl  eggs,  which  take  only  three 

weeks  to  hatch,  and  then  fill  it  with  turkey  eggs,  which  take 

four  weeks,  and  get  them  out  before  I  have  to  leave  home  on 

May  8;    but  unfortunately  the  steamboat  was  detained  by 

a  storm  and  so  the  incubator  was  delayed  a  whole  week, 

which  threw  out  all  my  plans,  and  I  will  have  to  give  up  the 

turkey  eggs.     The  little  book,  which  is  wonderfully  explicit 

and  satisfactory,  says  one  should  study  out  the  management 

of  the  heat  thoroughly  before  putting  in  the  eggs,  and  that 

will  make  some  delay. 

April  6. 

I  have  sat  on  a  low  stool  in  front  of  the  incubator  day  and 
night  since  it  was  unpacked  and  installed  in  the  drawing- 
room.  I  lighted  the  lamp  at  once,  and  then  watched  the 
thermometer,  which  necessitates  a  bright  light  and  a  very 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  161 

low  seat.  I  thought  it  was  going  to  be  very  simple,  and  on 
the  second  day  I  thought  I  had  it  steady  at  102|  degrees,  and 
went  off  into  the  field  to  see  after  some  ploughing.  When  I 
came  back  I  rushed  in  to  see  if  it  was  holding  its  own  and 
found  the  mercury  at  110  degrees  —  one  little  step  more  and 
it  would  have  broken  the  thermometer.  After  that  I  just 
stayed  there.  The  thermostat  is  a  wonderfully  delicate  piece 
of  mechanism  and  I  have  no  one  to  consult. 

April  7. 

At  last  I  have  got  the  thermometer  to  remain  steadily  at 
102|  for  ten  hours,  so  to-night  at  6  o'clock  I  put  in  the  120 
eggs. 

April  10. 

Tested  eggs  to-day.  Only  six  infertile.  The  thermostat 
is  working  beautifully  and  the  mercury  does  not  vary  a  half 
degree  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  I  am  very  careful  to 
follow  absolutely  every  direction  and  let  no  one  touch  it  but 
myself,  for  I  wish  to  give  it  a  fair  trial.  All  my  friends  in  the 
county  are  confiding  to  each  other  their  anxiety  over  my 
venture.  "Such  a  pity  dear  Patience  should  have  wasted 
her  money  on  such  a  folly.  A  huge  sum,  $25,  for  those  two 
machines.  It  is  distressing."  Many  years  ago,  when  in- 
cubators were  first  invented,  a  progressive  neighbor  invested 
in  one,  and  the  lamps  exploded  and  a  serious  fire  resulted,  so 
that  it  is  only  natural  that  incubators  are  much  looked  down 
on  in  this  community.  No  doubt  there  have  been  great 
improvements,  and  I  must  think  mine  the  most  perfect  of  all. 
Still,  I  feel  great  anxiety  as  to  the  results,  for  I  will  have  not 
only  the  great  disappointment  and  loss  should  it  fail  but  also 
the  "I  told  you  so"  of  the  whole  country  side. 

April  11. 

Began  to  mix  the  inoculating  stuff  for  the  alfalfa,  boiling 
rain-water  for  the  purpose.  Elihu  has  ploughed  with  the 
heavy  plough  and  Ball  and  Paul  in  the  alfalfa  field.     Gibbie 

M 


162  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

comes  behind  in  the  same  furrow  with  Jack  and  Sambo  and  a 
bull  tongue  plough.  They  have  gone  very  deep  and  the  land 
should  be  in  good  fix  after  it.  Made  Willing  try  the  Cahoon 
seeder  to  see  if  it  worked  according  to  directions  on  card. 

April  12. 
Elihu  and  Gibbie  harrowing  alfalfa  field.  I  had  a  large 
tub  on  the  piazza  and  put  in  the  second  ingredient  for  the 
wonder  bath.  I  bought  a  corn  planter  this  spring,  not  be- 
cause I  plant  enough  corn  to  really  need  it,  but  because  the 
crooked  planting  of  the  women  worries  me  so.  To-day  we 
were  to  plant  the  first  acre  of  corn  for  this  season.  I  had 
Willing  use  the  planter  drawn  by  Mollie.  It  worked  very 
well,  but  he  could  not  go  straight  and  the  rows  look  like 
snake  tracks,  much  worse  than  the  women's  planting,  and 
I  had  much  better  have  saved  my  $10.  Bonaparte  is  tri- 
umphant and  I  am  in  the  slough  of  despond. 

April  13. 

Planted  corn  again.  Had  Elihu  to  run  corn  planter  and 
had  Willing  to  take  his  place  harrowing  in  alfalfa  field.  The 
rows  are  a  little  straighter,  but  still  hopelessly  meandering. 
That  $10  is  simply  thrown  away. 

April  14. 

What  a  time  I  have  had  to-day.  I  started  out  to  plant 
four  acres  of  alfalfa  and  I  feel  just  as  though  I  had  drawn  the 
plough  and  the  harrow  as  well  as  the  three  darkies.  The  land 
has  been  double  ploughed,  then  harrowed  with  a  home-made 
tooth  harrow,  and  then  with  the  acme  several  times.  The 
land  was  heavily  covered  with  stable  manure  before  the 
ploughing.  I  have  mixed  the  wonder  bath  most  accurately 
and  now  the  culmination  of  all,  the  planting,  was  to  take 
place.  I  bought  a  Cahoon  broadcast  seeder,  and  have  tried 
to  make  Willing  (the  boy  I  have  in  Jim's  place,  but  oh,  what 
a  misfit  !)    understand   the   directions.     I   called  upon   old 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  163 

Bonaparte  this  morning  to  measure  the  seed  out  into  separate 
sacks,  so  that  we  would  have  no  confusion  in  the  field,  but, 
oh,  dear,  what  a  dream  that  was!  It  seemed  to  Bonaparte 
such  feminine  folly  that  I  should  insist  on  stakes  every  ten 
feet  at  the  head  and  end  of  the  field  so  that  Willing  would 
have  something  to  guide  his  wandering  steps.  We  have  had 
high  words  on  the  subject,  he  maintaining  that  it  was  a  waste 
of  labor  and  stakes  to  mark  anything  but  the  half  acre.  As 
Willing  has  not  a  straight  eye  and  walks  a  good  deal  as  though 
he  were  tipsy,  even  with  the  guiding  stakes,  I  think  it  will 
be  in  the  nature  of  a  miracle  if  this  field  is  covered  with  alfalfa. 
I  have  not  been  out  here  for  two  or  three  clays,  as  I  was  plant- 
ing corn,  but  I  had  two  men  and  two  teams  at  work  all  the 
time  and  a  woman  to  clear  away  roots,  etc.,  and  positively 
I  do  not  see  what  they  have  done.  The  field  is  as  rough  as 
possible,  it  seems  to  me,  though  the  negroes  think  me  most 
unreasonable  and  Elihu  says:  "My  Lor',  Miss,  wha'  yo' 
want  mo'  ?  Dis  fiel'  look  too  bu-ti-ful,  'e  stan'  same  lik'  a 
gya'ding!" 

The  first  difficulty  is  to  get  the  stakes  set  straight,  a  tall 
and  then  a  short,  so  that  Willing  will  know  that  when  he 
leaves  a  short  stake  he  must  reach  a  short  one  at  the  end  of 
the  field ;  but  I  had  a  perfect  battle  to  get  Bonaparte  to  set 
the  stakes  in  that  way.  The  next  trouble  was  to  get  rid  of 
the  alfalfa  —  I  allowed  ten  quarts  to  the  acre,  and  it  will 
not  go  in.  I  have  opened  the  small  door  of  the  conceited 
Cahoon  creature  just  one-half  inch  as  the  card  says,  and  made 
Willing  walk  every  ten  feet  instead  of  every  twenty,  as  it 
directs,  and  yet  the  peck  of  seed  holds  out  and  is  left  over. 

I  understand  some  of  men's  temptations  in  the  way  of 
speech  now  as  I  never  did  before. 

Just  here  I  am  in  trouble  over  the  whereabouts  of  a  huge 
caterpillar  of  varied  and  gorgeous  colors  which  I  saw  a  mo- 
ment ago  very  near  me.     I  did  not  like  to  shorten  its  little 


164 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


span  of  life,  so  I  took  it  on  a  big  leaf  to  quite  a  distance  from 
where  I  was  sitting  and  turned  it  on  its  back  and  made  a  little 
pen  around  it.  Now  it  has  disappeared  and  it  may  be  any- 
where. I  must  move  to  another  tree,  though  I  have  an  ideal 
seat  on  the  root  of  this  one,  a  splendid  live  oak  with  spreading 
branches. 

Finding  the  ground  still  so  rough  I  sent  Elihu  to  "the 
street"  to  get  a  woman  with  a  hoe  to  go  over  the  ground  and 
remove  impediments.  I  said:  "Get  any  one  you  can  at 
once,"  thinking  he  would  bring  Snippy  his  wife,  or  Susan  his 
daughter;   but  in  a  short  time  I  saw  a  procession  arriving. 

Aphrodite,  with  a  basket  on  her 
head,  a  baby  in  one  arm  and  a 
child  of  eighteen  months  dragging 
by  the  other  hand,  while  one 
,  of  three  years  toddled  behind. 
The  procession  moved  to  a 
clump  of  trees  in  the  middle 
of  the  field;  there  Aphrodite 
made  a  halt,  took  from  her 
basket  a  quilt,  and  spreading 
it  on  the  ground  deposited  the 
party  upon  it.  I  do  wish  I  had 
my  kodak ;  but  I  am  so  stupid 
about  the  films ;  I  cannot  put 
them  in  myself,  and  I  am  so 
afraid  of  spending  an  unneces- 
sary cent,  that  for  months  my  kodak  is  no  use  to  me,  and  it 
would  be  such  a  delight  if  I  could  only  once  learn  its  intri- 
cacies. 

This  group  has  saved  my  reason  to-day,  I  think,  for  the 
little  things  are  so  funny,  solemnly  staring  around,  a  bucket 
of  rice  and  meat  made  into  a  strange  mess  in  the  midst. 
I  sent  for  a  basket  of  roast  sweet  potatoes,  and  gave  one  to 


Aphrodite  spread  a  quilt 
and  deposited  the  party 
upon  it. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  165 

each,  but  I  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  pastoral,  for  I  insisted 
that  the  potato  should  be  peeled  for  the  baby,  whereupon 
Isaiah  set  up  a  terrible  yell  and  Aphrodite  said :  "Him  lub 
de  skin."  I  insisted,  however,  that  the  skin  should  be 
removed,  for  only  a  month  ago  Isaiah  was  at  death's  door  with 
convulsions.  The  baby  has  on  a  little  red  frock  and  a  little 
red  cap  with  frills,  tied  tightly  on  her  little  coal  black  head, 
and  the  sun  is  broiling  hot.  Her  name  is  Florella  Elizabeth 
Angelina. 

But  back  to  the  precious  alfalfa,  which  has  cost  me  so 
much  worry  as  well  as  money  All  that  I  can  get  put  into 
the  land  is  six  quarts  to  the  acre.  Here  I  pause  with  pleasure 
as  another  procession  approaches.  Oh,  for  my  kodak  again. 
I  heard  a  noise,  and  on  looking  up  I  see  the  Imp  puffed  up 
with  pride  rolling  the  wheelbarrow,  which  seems  to  have  a 
large  and  varied  load.  Behind  comes  my  little  maid  Gerty 
with  a  basket.  With  a  great  swing  Imp  rolls  the  wheel- 
barrow alongside  of  me  ;  and  they  proceed  to  unload.  First 
a  little  green  painted  table,  which  has  a  history  that  perhaps 
some  day  I  will  have  time  to  tell ;  then  Gerty  takes  from  her 
basket  table-cloth  and  table  napkins  of  snowy  damask  and 
all  the  implements  and  accompaniments  of  a  modern  lunch. 
Imp  takes  out  a  demijohn  of  artesian  water,  the  cut  glass 
salt  cellar,  pepper  cruet,  and  then  these  are  put  in  position 
and  in  the  midst  a  little  dish  of  butter,  churned  since  I  left 
the  house  this  morning ;  and  what  a  nice  dinner !  A  fresh 
trout  with  a  roe,  brought  me  an  hour  ago  as  a  present  from 
Casa  Bianca  by  Nat,  broiled  to  a  turn  —  a  delicious  morsel, 
and  after  that  an  abundant  dish  of  asparagus,  and  besides 
this  a  large  dish  of  fried  bacon  and  one  of  rice. 

"Oh,  Gerty,"  I  said.  "Chloe  knew  I  did  not  want  all 
this  to  eat." 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  she  answered.  "An'  Chloe  say  to  tell 
you  say  we  got  plenty  home  for  dinner  en  she  know  yu'd 


166  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

like  to  give  some  'way."  That  made  me  happy,  for  Chloe  to 
understand  me  so  thoroughly,  to  send  me  a  delicious  dainty 
meal  for  myself,  and  then  besides  a  substantial  portion  for  me 
to  give  away.  That  is  what  an  old  time,  before  the  war 
darky  is,  one  whose  devotion  makes  them  enter  into  one's 
tastes  and  feelings  so  thoroughly. 

When  I  left  the  house  this  morning  I  certainly  expected  to 
be  back  to  dinner,  but  finding  how  absolutely  necessary  my 
presence  in  the  field  was  I  just  stayed  there,  and  at  three 
Chloe  sent  this  nice  meal.  When  the  procession  arrived  I 
exclaimed,  "How  delightful!  Whose  idea  was  the  wheel- 
barrow ?  "  The  Imp  answered  promptly  :  "  De  me,  ma'am," 
at  which  I  made  him  my  compliments.  It  is  such  a  pleasure 
to  be  able  to  commend  the  poor  little  Imp,  for  he  has  an 
immense  ingenuity  in  mischief  and  earns  much  reproof. 

I  am  quite  ashamed  of  the  frame  of  mind  in  which  I  began 
this,  but  I  will  not  tear  it  up.  What  is  written  is  written. 
After  this  episode  everything  looks  so  different,  and  now  at 
4 :  30  the  four  acres  are  planted  and  22-year-old  Mollie  is 
drawing  a  bush  over  to  cover  the  seed  with  such  rapidity 
that  she  keeps  Elihu  at  a  run,  and  even  to  my  eye  the  field 
looks  fairly  respectable,  and  the  darkies  think  it  unspeak- 
ably fine.  I  am  making  Willing  travel  over  between  the  tracks 
where  he  went  before,  and  so  have  disposed  of  the  necessary 
quantity  of  seed  to  within  a  peck.  Now  I  can  look  up  and 
beyond  the  gray  earth  and  glory  in  the  beauty  of  God's 
world.  Half  of  the  field  was  planted  in  oats  in  the  winter 
and  it  is  now  splendid,  an  expanse  of  intense  vivid  color. 
The  field,  about  twenty  acres,  is  a  slight  elevation  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  a  swamp,  in  which  the  variety  of  young 
green  is  wonderful.  The  cypress  with  its  feathery  fringe  of 
pale  grass  green,  the  water  oak  with  its  tender  yellow  green, 
the  hickory  with  its  true  pure  green,  and  the  maple  with  its 
gamut  of  pink  up  and  down  the  scale  —  pale  salmon,  rose 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  167 

pink,  then  a  brick-dusty  pink,  and  here  at  last  it  rises  into 
rich  crimson.  Here  and  there  the  poplar,  with  its  flowerlike 
leaves,  the  black  gum  with  its  black  tracery  of  downward 
turning  branches,  all  edged  with  tender  gray  green. 

It  is  too  beautiful  for  words,  and  behind  all,  accenting  and 
bringing  out  the  light  airy  beauty,  is  the  dark  blue  green  of 
the  solemn  pine  forest.  I  wish  I  had  brought  my  crayons  and 
block ;  I  might  have  had  a  faint  echo  of  one  little  corner  to 
send  to  some  poor  shut-in  who  cannot  get  it  first  hand  in  its 
exquisite  reality.  And  this,  too,  is  but  a  prelude ;  in  a  few 
days  the  ideal  tenderness  will  be  replaced  by  a  more  material 
and  lasting  beauty,  but  not  so  heart  reaching.  It  certainly 
seems  a  pity  that  one  should  have  to  think  of  and  strive  after 
filthy  lucre  in  the  midst  of  all  this  beauty ;  but  I  have  reached 
a  point  where  if  I  do  not  struggle  and  wrestle  with  the  earth, 
therefrom  to  draw  the  said  dross,  I  will  have  to  give  up  all  this 
life  with  Nature  and  find  a  small  room  in  some  city  to  eke 
out  my  days. 

It  is  not  a  cheap  thing  to  live  in  this  country.  One  must 
have  horses,  one  must  have  servants  —  but  once  given  a 
moderate  income  to  cover  these  things  and  there  is  no  spot 
on  earth  where  one  can  have  so  much  for  so  little.  Wild 
ducks  abound  all  winter,  also  partridges,  snipe,  and  wood- 
cock ;  rabbits  and  squirrels  run  over  everything.  Our 
streams  are  filled  with  bream,  Virginia  perch  and  trout.  If 
any  one  wants  better  living  than  these  afford,  he  can  have 
wild  turkey  and  venison  for  the  shooting,  as  the  woods 
abound  in  these,  and  he  can  have  shad  daily  during  two 
months  if  he  goes  to  the  expense  of  a  small  shad  net  and  a 
man  to  use  it.  It  is  a  splendid  country  for  poultry.  Tur- 
keys, clucks,  and  chickens  are  easily  raised,  and  I  believe 
it  could  be  made  to  pay  handsomely. 

My  first  question  to  Gerty  when  she  appeared  to-day  was, 
"How    high   is   the    incubator?"     She  answered  promptly 


168  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

101,  by  which  I  know  it  is  not  above  103,  and  am  thankful. 
I  fear  the  eggs  are  all  cooked,  for  when  I  got  in  from  the  corn- 
field Thursday  the  mercury  stood  106|.  I  had  left  Gerty 
to  watch  and  to  open  the  door  if  it  went  above  102^.  She 
reads  and  writes  and  knows  the  figures  quite  well,  but  does 
not  seem  to  understand  the  thermometer. 

April  20. 

I  had  told  Aphrodite  that  she  must  pull  up  all  the  grass 
roots,  brambles,  etc.,  in  the  alfalfa  field ;  as  it  was  new  ground 
the  harrow  had  not  got  them  all  out.  She  came  to  me  to- 
day and  said :  — 

"Miss,  I  kyan't  wuk  een  dat  fiel'  no  mo' ;  de  ting  cum  up 
too  purty,  en  ef  I  tromple  um  I'll  kill  urn." 

"Do  you  mean  the  alfalfa  has  come  up?" 

"Yes,  ma'am,  de  whol'  fiel'  kiver  wid  um." 

I  just  flew  to  the  field  on  my  bicycle,  and  truly  there  was 
the  whole  field  covered  with  tiny  dark  gray  green  leaves  !  I 
was  perfectly  delighted,  for  I  had  not  supposed  it  would  come 
so  quickly  and  had  no  idea  the  stand  could  be  so  thick  after 
all  my  tribulations. 

Just  before  lunch  S.  came,  bringing  some  friends  with  her 
—  they  wished  to  see  how  I  turned  the  eggs  in  the  incubator, 
and  so  I  took  the  tray  out  to  show  them,  and  as  I  was  putting 
it  down  on  the  table  I  heard  a  very  soft  chirp,  which  startled 
me  so  that  I  nearly  dropped  the  whole  thing. 

Somehow  I  had  not  realized  that  the  time  was  so  near  for 
the  climax,  but  to-night  as  I  was  going  to  bed  I  went  for  a 
last  look,  and  there  was  one  little  chick,  white  and  fluffy 
and  very  lively.     I  wonder  if  that  is  to  be  the  only  one. 

April  28. 
The  whole  incubator  seems  to  have  turned  into  chickens. 
I  never  saw  anything  like  it  but  a  swarm  of  bees.     As  soon 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  169 

as  I  got  up  this  morning  I  rushed  down  to  the  incubator, 
and  there  they  were  ! 

I  called  Chloe  at  once,  and  she  stood  in  front  of  the  glass 
door  and  gazed  with  wondering  eyes,  then  she  dropped  a 
profound  courtesy,  and,  raising  her  eyes  and  hands  to  heaven, 
she  said,  "T'ank  de  Laud,"  and  this  was  repeated  three  times 
with  intense  fervor  and  reverence.  Then  she  seized  my  hand 
and  shook  it  violently. 

Only  then  did  I  understand  how  much  self-control  Chloe 
had  used  not  to  show  me  more  plainly  her  utter  doubt  and 
scorn  of  the  'cubator.  I  knew  she  did  not  approve,  but  had 
no  idea  that  she  felt  certain  we  would  never  see  a  chicken 
from  it.     Her  delight  is  unbounded. 

The  book  of  instructions  says  you  must  not  open  the  door 
at  all  after  the  eggs  begin  to  pip,  but  I  had  to  open  it  very 
quickly  and  take  out  the  egg-shells  which  were  so  much  in  the 
way  of  the  chicks.  It  is  too  bad  that  they  sent  the  brooder 
without  any  lamp,  and  so  I  cannot  take  the  chicks  out  as  I 
should  do  when  they  are  twelve  hours  old. 

The  incubator  must  be  kept  at  from  105  degrees,  and  the 
newly  hatched  chicks  only  101  degrees,  or  at  most  102,  and 
so  I  am  afraid  of  roasting  the  chicks  or  chilling  the  eggs. 

April  29. 

I  am  in  a  great  quandary  about  the  chickens,  and  I  have 
to  go  to  Gregory  to  meet  a  cousin  at  the  train,  for  I  cannot 
trust  Willing  to  drive  across  the  ferry  and  go  to  the  station 
alone ;  he  is  too  poor  a  driver,  and  so  I  must  go  myself.  A 
great  many  eggs  are  pipped  and  the  chicks  will  be  sacrificed 
if  I  leave  them  so  crowded  and  so  hot. 

After  thinking  it  over  I  made  up  my  mind,  took  a  basket, 
opened  the  door  of  the  incubator,  took  out  thirty  eggs  which 
had  not  hatched,  and  going  to  the  river  threw  them  in.  I 
stood  on  the  little  wooden  landing  and  watched,  and  to  my 
horror  the  eggs  swam  ! 


170  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

They  would  not  go  with  the  tide  but  made  a  circle  and 
returned  to  the  shore,  and  I  felt  like  a  murderer,  but  I  could 
not  get  them  back,  so  I  sadly  returned  to  the  house  and  re- 
duced the  heat  in  the  incubator  to  102  and  fed  the  chicks  some 
bread  crumbs.  Then  I  got  into  the  wagon  and  started  for 
Gregory. 

It  was  dark  when  we  got  to  the  ferry  and  I  did  not  reach 
the  Winyah  Inn  until  10  o'clock. 

April  30. 

When  Willing  drove  to  the  inn  for  me  this  morning  I  saw 
a  large  red  object  protruding  from  his  pocket,  and  as  we  drove 
to  the  station  I  asked  him  what  it  was.  He  appeared  very 
much  confused  and  would  not  answer,  so  I  told  him  to  take 
the  thing  out,  as  it  looked  very  badly. 

Finally  with  much  difficulty  I  made  him  take  it  out  before 
we  reached  the  station,  and  it  was  a  quart  bottle  of  dispen- 
sary whiskey  !  I  was  very  angry  and  told  him  to  hand  it  to 
me,  which  he  at  first  refused  to  do,  but  in  the  end  he  did,  and 
I  put  it  in  my  valise. 

I  told  him  I  was  greatly  mortified  and  disappointed  that 
this  first  time  I  had  trusted  him  to  drive  me  to  town  he  should 
do  such  a  thing.  He  protested  and  declared  that  it  was  for 
his  grandfather.  I  was  truly  thankful  I  had  seen  it  and  dis- 
posed of  it  before  M.  arrived,  for  she  had  never  been  to  this 
part  of  the  world  before  and  would  have  felt  terrified  to  see 
the  coachman  so  provided. 

When  we  got  home  Willing's  mother  came  and  repeated 
the  tale  about  the  whiskey  having  been  got  for  her  father,  and 
I  gave  her  the  bottle.  I  know  this  little  tale  is  pure  fiction, 
for  her  father  never  drinks,  is  a  model  old  man,  and  I  happen 
to  know  a  piece  of  inside  history  about  Willing,  which  he 
confided  to  Gerty,  and  she  passed  it  on  to  Chloe,  who  in 
turn  confided  it  to  me,  when  warning  me  that  my  faith  in 
Willing  and  his  meek  ways  might  be  misplaced. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


171 


He  told  Gerty,  who  is  his  brother's  fiancee,  that  he  was 
"coa'tin',"  but  that  when  he  went  to  see  the  object  of  his 
affection  he  couldn't  say  a  word,  but  sat  dumb  before  her, 
unless  he  drank  a  pint  of  dispensary  on  the  way  to  her  house. 


"  Then  he  could  talk  a-plenty 


Then  he  was  all  right  and  could  talk  a-plenty.  I  called  for 
him  this  evening  and  gave  him  a  serious  talk. 

I  reminded  him  that  when  he  was  about  five  years  old  his 
father  had  gone  to  Gregory  to  pay  his  tax,  having  his  pocket 
full  of  money  from  the  sale  of  his  crop.  His  poor  mother 
walked  the  road  all  night  with  the  baby  in  her  arms  hoping 
for  his  return.  He  was  an  excellent  man,  faithful  to  all  his 
duties,  a  splendid  worker,  but  he  could  not  resist  "fire 
water." 

When  I  heard  in  the  morning  that  he  had  not  returned, 
and  the  other  men  who  went  with  him  had,  I  had  Elihu  get 
the  pony  carriage  and  drive  down  the  road  until  he  found 
him  and  bring  him  home,  as  the  men  said  he  had  dropped 
asleep  on  the  road  and  they  could  not  rouse  him,  so  they  came 


172  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

on  and  left  him.  It  was  a  bitter  night,  one  of  the  three  or 
four  freezes  we  have  during  the  winter,  and  I  knew  it  would 
go  hard  with  him. 

Elihu  found  him  eight  miles  away,  got  help  and  put  him 
in  the  pony  carriage,  for  Emanuel  was  a  tall,  heavy  man,  and 
drove  rapidly  home ;  but  life  was  extinct  when  he  reached 
the  poor  wife.  I  had  sent  beef  tea  and  stimulant  to  be  given 
him,  but  though  Elihu  found  him  alive,  he  could  not  force 
anything  down ;   he  seemed  unable  to  swallow. 

Lisbeth  nearly  went  crazy ;  she  had  seven  children  to 
support  by  her  own  labors.  As  time  passed  she  quieted  down 
and  having  her  house  and  firewood  and  two  acres  of  land  free 
of  all  rent  and  owning  a  fine  pair  of  oxen  and  a  cow,  she  got 
on  very  comfortably  and  brought  up  her  children  respectably. 

When  her  only  daughter,  Aphrodite,  married  and  her  two 
oldest  sons  went  to  "town"  to  work  and  were  making  a  dol- 
lar a  day,  she  felt  as  though  her  troubles  were  over.  But  the 
same  Devil's  chain  gripped  and  held  her  eldest  son  Zebedee. 

He  was  a  splendid  boatman  and  was  as  much  at  home  in 
the  water  as  a  cluck.  He  owned  a  canoe  and  made  an  easy 
living,  at  the  same  time  satisfying  his  love  of  sport  by  taking 
strangers  out  ducking.  Many  Northern  people  come  to 
Gregory  every  winter  for  that  sport. 

Last  January  and  February  we  had  several  bitter  spells  of 
weather  with  a  prolonged  freeze  and  snow.  During  one  of 
these,  when  ducks  were  especially  plentiful,  Zeb  took  a 
stranger  out.  Late  that  afternoon  they  met  another  sports- 
man, paddled  by  a  darky,  and  the  parties  spoke  and  com- 
mented on  the  unusual  cold ;  and  Zeb  produced  his  bottle  of 
dispensary,  offering  it  to  the  other  pacldler,  while  his  sports- 
man also  produced  a  flask  and  urged  it  upon  the  second 
sportsman,  who  being  near  his  home  and  its  bright  fire 
declined  it  and  suggested  to  Sportsman  No.  1  that  he  should 
land  and  not  go  on  shooting,  it  was  so  cold. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  173 

No.  1,  however,  said  he  was  all  right,  and  pointing  to  his 
overcoat  on  the  seat  said  he  had  not  even  put  that  on  yet. 
They  parted  and  Zeb  and  Sportsman  No.  1  were  never  seen 
again  alive. 

They  did  not  return  to  Gregory  that  night,  nor  the  next. 
Then  search  was  made,  and  the  sportsman  was  found  drowned 
and  Zeb  was  fou^d  frozen  holding  on  to  some  puncheons  on 
the  edge  of  an  old  canal.  Near  by  was  the  boat,  not  cap- 
sized, and  the  things  in  it  except  the  overcoat. 

It  was  surmised  by  those  who  knew  the  circumstances 
that  the  sportsman,  not  being  familiar  with  a  dugout  canoe, 
and  not  knowing  that  it  is  dangerous  to  stand  up  in  one,  rose 
to  put  on  his  overcoat,  lost  his  balance  and  fell  overboard, 
and  Zeb  plunged  in  to  rescue  him,  a  thing  he  could  easily 
have  accomplished  under  ordinary  circumstances.  But  the 
spirits  he  had  taken  from  time  to  time  paralyzed  his  great 
strength  and  skill  in  the  water,  and  he  not  only  could  not 
save  the  man  but  perished  himself.  He  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing the  puncheons  on  the  edge  of  the  canal,  but  was  unable 
to  pull  himself  out,  and  froze  stiff  there. 

Of  course  I  did  not  go  into  all  these  details  to  Willing,  but 
made  him  see  that  without  that  fatal  bottle  Zeb  could  have 
saved  himself  and  the  man,  and  I  tried  to  make  him  see  that 
with  such  a  family  history  the  only  hope  for  him  was  to 
swear  off  absolutely.  He  seemed  much  impressed  and 
thanked  me  for  my  "chastisement,"  as  they  call  any  solemn 
counsel  and  admonition,  and  promised  to  heed  it. 

The  chicks  are  very  lively  and  eat  bread  crumbs  and  oat- 
meal very  heartily.  I  have  enclosed  a  space  in  the  garden  of 
fifty  feet  in  circumference,  with  a  netted  wire  fence  six  feet 
high,  which  I  will  keep  locked,  and  I  hope  to  defy  hawks, 
foxes,  and  bipeds  as  well.  Chloe  is  perfectly  devoted  to  the 
chicks  and  feeds  them  with  enthusiasm  every  two  hours. 

I  am  having  much  trouble  at  Casa  Bianca.     The  hands 


174 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


Chloe  is  devoted  to  the  chicks  — feeds  them  every  two  hours. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  175 

continue  to  resent  my  having  given  the  keys  to  Nat,  and  they 
will  not  take  orders  from  him.  They  will  not  bind  themselves 
either  to  rent  any  certain  amount  of  land,  but  sulk  steadily. 

I  knew  that  the  loss  of  my  good  foreman  Marcus  was 
irremediable,  and  when  I  met  him  in  "town"  the  other  day 
he  told  me  he  was  perfectly  wretched ;  that  he  missed  the 
country  so.     Of  course  it  must  be  so  at  first. 

Instead  of  using  his  really  excellent  powers  of  control  and 
organization,  he  is  hauling  wood  for  a  living  during  the  week 
and  preaching  on  Sunday ;  but  his  wife  is  perfectly  happy  in 
the  high  social  life.  It  is  the  old,  old  tragedy  of  Eve  and  her 
misguided  ambitions  —  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  his  satanic 
majesty.  The  apple  pleased  her  eye ;  she  longed  to  taste  it, 
and  then  the  subtle  whisper  came:  "And  it  will  make  thee 
wise." 

Marcus  was  making  a  handsome  income ;  had  a  position 
of  trust  and  responsibility,  where  all  his  faculties  were  in  use 
during  the  week;  and  on  Sundays  he,  no  doubt,  preached 
good,  simple,  useful  sermons  to  his  congregation  of  laborers, 
for  he  came  fresh  from  his  struggle  with  the  earth  and  its 
realities.  But  to  his  wife  came  that  desire  for  social  emi- 
nence ;  to  wear  silk  frock  and  shine,  and  she  tugged  and 
tugged  until  he  consented  to  her  going. 

He  remained  a  year  alone  on  the  plantation  and  then  came 
the  inevitable.  He  followed,  and  now  all  the  dignity  of  his 
life  and  character  has  gone,  and  he  is  struggling  to  make 
himself  contented  with  what  is  supposed  to  be  a  higher 
station ;  that  is,  he  takes  orders  from  no  one.  He  will  get 
accustomed  to  it  after  a  time,  but  his  powers  will  shrink  away, 
unused,  and  without  responsibility  his  character  will  crumble. 

When  he  began  as  my  foreman,*  about  fifteen  years  ago,  his 

*  Marcus  has  since  died.  He  was  found  one  morning  in  his  stable,  where 
he  had  gone  to  harness  his  horse,  leaning  against  the  manger,  stiff  in  death. 
He  bore  a  high  character,  and  his  death  was  regretted  by  white  and  black. 


176  A    WOMAN  1UCE  PLANTER 

writing  was  illegible,  his  figures  hopeless.  Steadily,  patiently, 
I  have  corrected  his  mistakes,  looking  over  and  deciphering 
his  weekly  accounts  and  copying  them  down  in  my  book 
before  him  so  that  he  could  see  how  they  should  look.  Now 
he  writes  a  readable,  nice  letter  and  any  one  could  examine 
his  accounts,  and  he  knows  and  realizes  all  this  and  knows 
that  his  standards  have  all  grown  and  risen  more  even  than 
his  knowledge. 

Meantime  I  will  have  to  give  up  altogether  planting  on 
wages,  and  it  looks  as  though  there  will  be  very  little  land 
rented.  If  I  had  money  of  my  own  I  would  hire  a  good  over- 
seer and  plant  100  acres  on  wages  and  not  rent  any  land  to 
these  recalcitrant  hands,  but  it  would  be  madness  to  put  a 
mortgage  on  the  place  and  borrow  money  at  8  per  cent 
while  rice  is  selling  at  40  cents  a  bushel. 

So  I  will  simply  remain  passive  and  let  the  hands  who  wish 
to  rent  have  the  land  and  seed,  but  explain  that  I  cannot  pay 
out  any  money  for  extra  work.  I  feel  sure  that  some  day 
rice  will  rise  in  price,  but  every  one  seems  to  think  differ- 
ently, and  all  the  planters  are  either  giving  up  entirely  or 
diminishing  their  acreage  very  much  and  turning  to  upland 
crops. 

So  far  I  have  only  forty  acres  of  rice  land  rented,  and  I  feel 
very  blue  about  the  future.  Then,  again,  my  sheep  and  cat- 
tle at  Casa  Bianca,  which  have  been  so  remunerative  to  me 
all  these  years,  are  giving  me  trouble  now. 

A  friend  and  neighbor,  who  has  been  heretofore  a  confirmed 
rice  planter,  and  never  planted  an  acre  of  corn,  has  become 
disgusted  with  rice  and  enclosed  a  large  body  of  land  which 
has  been  thrown  out  for  years,  and  is  going  to  plant  corn  and 
cotton.  This  land  touches  mine,  and  my  animals  have  had 
the  run  of  it.  The  fence  which  has  been  put  up  is  neither 
"horse  high,  bull  strong,  nor  pig  tight,"  and  my  cattle  do  not 
regard  it  at  all,  though  it  is  a  very  nice  looking,  comme  il 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  177 

faut  wire  fence,  and  I  will  have  to  sell  my  cattle,  I  fear,  and 
confine  the  sheep  in  a  limited  pasture. 

Ruth,  my  brag  cow,  who  has  given  me  fifteen  fine  calves, 
and  Rubin,  my  picture  bull,  just  light  over  that  neat  fence  as 
though  it  did  not  exist,  and  the  humble  sheep  go  down  on 
their  knees  and  creep  under  it,  and  I  lie  awake  at  night  and 
wonder  what  I  am  to  do  between  my  love  for  my  creatures 
and  my  love  for  my  neighbor. 


CHAPTER   V 

Easter  Sunday,  May  1. 

A  BEAUTIFUL,  bright  Easter.     All  nature  seems  to  re- 
joice with  man  in  this  great  day  of  triumph  over 
death. 
Our  little  chapel,  Prince  Frederick's  Pee  Dee,  is  beauti- 
fully wreathed  with  wild  flowers  and  vines,  the  work  of  three 


Prince  Frederick's  Pee  Dee. 

young  girls,  sisters,  who,  having  but  three  days'  holiday  from 
their  school  teaching,  devoted  one  of  them  to  this  thank 
offering  and  labor  of  love.  We  are  all  touched  and  softened 
by  this  act  of  devotion,  and  the  blessing  of  the  day  seems 
upon  every  one. 

178 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  179 

May  2. 

Had  a  terrible  shock  to-day.  I  took  M.  to  see  the  alfalfa 
field,  and  there  was  not  a  leaf  of  anything  in  the  five  acres  ! 
Those  two  nights  of  ice  must  have  caught  the  alfalfa  in  its 
one  tender  stage,  for  all  the  books  say  that  after  it  is  six  inches 
high  it  will  stand  any  amount  of  cold'.  I  am  stunned,  it 
is  such  an  unexpected  blow. 

Having  been  desperately  busy,  and  knowing  that  my  fence 
was  perfectly  secure,  I  have  not  been  to  look  at  the  alfalfa 
since  the  seventeenth,  when  it  was  fine,  and  now  all  the  money 
I  have  spent  on  it  might  as  well  have  been  thrown  away,  so 
far  as  any  hope  of  return  goes  —  I  fenced  in  that  field  of 
thirty  acres  with  American  fence  wire,  forty  inches  high,  and 
two  strands  of  barbed  wire  on  top,  hoping  gradually  to  get 
it  all  in  alfalfa  by  planting  five  acres  every  year.  I  have  five 
acres  of  fine  oats  in  it  now,  but  that  brings  in  no  money, 
only  feeds  my  horses. 

I  had  to  go  for  a  long  walk  alone  to  steady  myself,  so  as  not 

to  break  down  entirely. 

Cherokee,  May  3. 

The  hands  from  Casa  Bianca  came  this  morning  to  get 

seed  rice.     I  was  just  starting  to  drive  M.  to  the  train,  but  as 

it  is  very  important  to  get  the  rice  planted  as  soon  as  possible 

I  had  to  delay  the  departure  until  to-morrow,  for  it  was  too 

late  when  I  had  finished  measuring  out  the  rice  to  drive  to 

Gregory  in  time  for  the  4 :  30  train. 

May  4. 

Drove  M.  to  the  R.  R.  yesterday.  I  was  afraid  to  take 
Willing,  knowing  his  weakness  for  the  dispensary ;  so  drove 
her  in  the  buckboard.  On  the  way  I  took  her  into  Wood- 
stock, my  brother's  place,  that  she  might  see  its  beauty,  and 
then  when  we  reached  Gregory  I  took  her  to  see  the  old  church, 
Prince  George  Winyah,  and  its  churchyard,  where  my  parents 
rest.     The  church  was  built  of  brick  imported  from  the  old 


180 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


country,  and  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  land.  The  church- 
yard is  beautiful  with  its  moss  hung  oaks  and  cedars,  and 
one  feels  that  it  is  truly  God's  acre.  We  lingered  there  so 
long  that  there  was  a  risk  of  missing  the  train,  which  would 
have  been  most  inconvenient  to  both  guest  and  hostess. 
By  driving  rapidly,  however,  we  reached  the  station  in  time. 
As  it  was  too  late  for  me  to  take  the  long  drive  home  alone 
I  went  into  Woodstock  and  spent  the  night  with  my  brother. 


&l 


Prince  George  Winyah. 


This  morning  after  breakfast  I  drove  to  Casa  Bianca,  which 
is  halfway  between  Woodstock  and  Cherokee.  There  I  had 
a  good  many  things  to  see  after,  and  it  was  late  afternoon 
before  I  got  through  and  finally  started  for  home. 

I  had  been  so  much  engrossed  with  my  work  trying  to 
establish  a  better  state  of  feeling  between  the  hands  and  Nat 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  181 

that  I  had  not  noticed  that  the  clouds  had  gathered  heavily 
and  that  everything  indicated  a  storm.  When  I  felt  the 
gusts  of  wind  which  tore  at  the  umbrella  so  fiercely  that  I 
had  to  put  it  down  in  spite  of  a  drizzling  rain,  and  saw  the 
forked  lightning  which  shot  incessantly  from  the  clouds, 
and  thought  of  the  eight  miles  of  lonely  road  ahead  of  me,  I 
realized  that  I  would  have  to  bring  forward  all  my  faith  and 
philosophy  for  the  next  hour.  From  being  by  nature  a 
great  coward  I  had  become  very  courageous,  and  I  have 
often  caught  myself  saying  there  were  only  two  things  in  the 
world  I  was  afraid  of,  a  cow  and  a  drunken  man,  and  I  could 
not  help  calling  this  to  mind  now  and  wondering  how  I  would 
stand  the  present  ordeal.  Romola,  who  is  generally  very 
quiet,  snorted  and  showed  every  sign  of  fear,  but  I  did  not 
give  her  time  to  give  way  to  her  feelings,  but  used  the  whip 
freely,  a  thing  I  very  rarely  do,  to  make  her  understand  that 
she  must  travel.     She  responded  nobly  and  we  sped  along. 

The  clouds  made  it  much  darker  than  it  should  have  been, 
for  the  sun  had  only  just  gone  down.  I  have  never  seen 
such  vivid  lightning  nor  heard  such  claps  of  thunder,  and  at 
each  Romola  darted  out  of  the  road  as  though  the  thick 
bushes  could  protect  her.  Not  a  human  being  was  to  be  seen 
the  whole  way,  and  when  I  got  to  the  avenue  gate,  which  was 
shut,  I  had,  of  course,  to  get  out  to  open  it,  and  I  felt  sure 
Romola  would  fly  home  and  leave  me ;  but  I  did  her  an  in- 
justice. She  waited,  with  every  sign  of  impatience,  long 
enough  for  me  with  great  speed  to  get  in,  and  then  dashed  on 
until  we  got  to  the  darkest  spot  in  the  avenue,  where  the  live 
oaks  lap  together  overhead.  A  fearful  flash  of  lightning 
came,  followed  instantly  by  a  terrific  peal  of  thunder,  and  she 
stopped  short.  I  felt  sure  she  had  been  struck,  and  she  seemed 
to  share  the  impression,  but  in  a  moment  she  went  on  and 
we  were  soon  at  home. 

I  was  so  excited  that  I  was  in  a  perfect  gale  of  spirits, 


182  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

which  quite  upset  my  good  Chloe,  who  had  worked  herself 

up  to  a  wretched  state  of  anxiety  about  me,  miserable  that  I 

was  out  in  that  terrible  storm  alone ;    and  she  was  hurt  and 

disapproving  of  my  attitude,  especially  as  the  first  thing  I 

did  was  to  insist  that  Gerty  and  herself  should  take  in  my 

best  rug,  which  had  been  hung  on  the  piazza  to  air.     Their 

terror  had  been  so  great  that  they  had  left  it  out  in  the  rain  — 

such  a  panic  had  seized  them  that  they  were  very  reluctant 

to  venture  out  on  the  piazza.     They  had  the  house  shut  up 

without  a  breath  of  air,  that  being  their  idea  of  safety.     Of 

course,  I  was  drenched  and  had  to  change  all  my  things, 

and  after  two  hours  I  sent  word  to  Willing  that  he  might 

safely  feed  the  mare,  I  having  told  him  to  rub  her  perfectly 

dry,  but  not  to  feed  her  till  I  sent  him  word.     What  was  my 

dismay  to  find  he  had  not  rubbed  her  at  all  —  said  he  was 

afraid  to  stay  in  the  stable,  so  he  had  turned  her  loose  in  the 

stable  yard  and  gone  into  the  kitchen,  leaving  her  exposed 

to  the  pouring  rain  !     Of  course  she  will  be  foundered,  for 

she  was  very  hot. 

Sunday,  May  8. 

Drove  Ruth  to  church  and  met  some  one  just  from  Greg- 
ory on  the  way,  who  told  me  a  most  terrible  thing.  Mrs. 
R.,  one  of  the  loveliest  women  in  our  community,  was 
struck  by  lightning  during  the  storm  last  evening.  She  had 
always  had  a  great  terror  of  lightning,  though  in  every  other 
respect  she  was  a  fearless  woman,  so  that  her  family  always 
gathered  round  her  during  a  storm  and  tried  as  much  as 
possible  to  shut  out  the  sight  and  sound.  On  this  occasion 
her  husband  and  daughter  were  sitting  one  on  each  side  of  her 
on  an  old-fashioned  mahogany  sofa,  she  with  her  handkerchief 
thrown  over  her  face.  When  the  fatal  flash  came  the 
husband  and  daughter  were  thrown  forward  to  the  floor  and 
were  stunned ;  as  soon  as  they  recovered  consciousness  they 
turned  to  reassure  the  mother  as  to  their  not  being  seriously 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  183 

hurt.  She  was  still  sitting  straight  up  on  the  sofa  with  the 
handkerchief  over  her  face ;  they  lifted  the  handkerchief  as 
they  received  no  answer  and  found  life  extinct.  It  was  a 
translation  really  for  her,  as  she  probably  felt  nothing ;  there 
was  only  one  small  spot  at  the  back  of  the  neck.  She  was  a 
woman  rarely  gifted,  with  beauty  of  face  and  form,  as  well  as 
of  soul ;  she  was  one  upon  whom  every  one  rested  who  came 
in  contact  with  her ;  she  gave  of  her  strength  to  all  who 
needed  it,  for  her  supply  was  unlimited,  coming  direct  from 
the  great  source  of  all  power.  I  wonder  if  terror  of  lightning 
was  a  premonition  which  had  been  with  her  always  from  her 
childhood  ?  Her  death  is  a  great  loss  to  our  county,  and  to 
her  family  a  calamity  indeed. 

May  9. 

Very  busy  arranging  things  so  that  I  can  leave  for  my  an- 
nual visit  to  Washington.  It  is  harder  than  ever,  for  Jim 
not  being  here  to  leave  in  charge  of  the  horses  I  feel  very 
anxious.  However,  I  have  done  my  best  and  will  leave  to- 
morrow. The  incubator  is  in  full  swing  and  Chloe  and 
Gerty  have  learned  how  to  manage  the  heat  between  them. 
The  chicks  are  due  to  hatch  on  the  14th,  and  I  have  left  most 
accurate  written  directions  for  each  day  which  Gerty  is  to 
read  aloud  to  Chloe  as  the  day  comes,  for  toward  the  end 
the  heat  must  be  raised.  The  first  family  of  sixty-seven  are 
growing  apace ;  only  one  has  died  and  that  was  smothered 
by  the  others  before  I  found  out  that  I  must  put  them  under 
the  hover  every  night  or  they  will  cluster  about  the  ther- 
mometer and  climb  on  top  of  each  other  until  the  ones  under- 
neath are  smothered  if  help  does  not  come.  It  is  the  funniest 
thing  to  see  their  devotion  to  the  thermometer.  They  peck 
it  off  of  the  nail  on  which  it  hangs,  so  that  as  soon  as  I  learned 
to  know  the  proper  heat  for  the  brooder  by  touching  the 
metal  cylinder  under  the  hover,  I  took  the  thermometer  out 
entirely,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  gone  they  went  under  the 


184  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

hover  of  their  own  accord.  They  seemed  to  feel  that  the 
mercury  was  a  living  presence,  I  suppose,  because  it  moved 
up  and  down  in  the  tube. 

I  am  leaving  Willing  to  run  one  cultivator,  with  Mollie 
and  Gibbie  to  run  the  other  with  a  fine  ox  I  have  just  bought. 
I  heard  that  Gibbie  had  made  his  plans  to  "go  to  town"  to 
work,  leaving  his  young  wife  and  child,  and  I  racked  my 
brain  for  something  that  would  interest  him  at  home  and 
divert  his  thoughts  from  that  plan ;  for  if  once  a  young  negro 
leaves  his  wife  and  children  to  go  away  to  work  he  is  very 
apt  to  stay  away  permanently,  and  I  should  be  sorry  for 
Gibbie  to  do  that.  One  day  I  called  him  and  said:  "Gibbie, 
I  wish  to  try  an  experiment  and  put  you  in  charge  of  it,  and 
I  am  going  away  for  a  month.  You  know,  in  this  country  no 
one  ever  thinks  of  ploughing  a  single  ox ;  they  can't  do  any- 
thing without  a  yoke  of  oxen ;  but  in  the  up  country  it  is  not 
so.  On  my  way  to  the  mountains  I  see  from  the  car  windows 
people  running  their  ploughs  with  a  single  ox.  Now  I  want 
you  to  take  entire  charge  of  Paul  —  no  one  else  is  to  use  him 
—  and  I  want  you  to  put  him  in  the  cultivator  and  run  it 
through  the  corn  day  by  day  until  you  finish  that,  and  then 
through  the  cotton,  and  then  start  through  the  corn  again ; 
but  be  careful  of  Paul  and  do  not  let  him  get  galled,  and  feed 
him  well." 

Gibbie  was  as  proud  as  though  he  had  been  made  Viceroy 
of  India  and  his  plan  of  deserting  vanished. 

May  26. 

Washington.  Spen  the  afternoon  at  the  Agricultural  De- 
partment, where  I  met  with  much  courtesy  as  well  as  informa- 
tion. I  went  specially  to  inquire  as  to  the  practicability  of  the 
cultivation  of  the  orris  root  on  our  rice  field  lands.  The  orris 
of  commerce  is  the  root  of  the  iris,  which  grows  luxuriantly 
in  our  low  country.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  and  during 
the  month  of  April  every  swampy  low  spot,  as  one  drives 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  185 

along  the  road,  is  beautiful  with  the  dark  purple  or  blue  and 
the  light  purple  and  the  white  iris,  or  flag.  My  desire  was 
to  find  out  if  these  species  of  iris  had  the  perfumed  root,  for 
if  they  have  we  could  cultivate  it  in  the  rice  fields  with  great 
success. 

The  impression  at  the  department  is  that  orris  can  be 
grown  only  on  high  ground,  as  in  Italy,  where  it  is  principally 
grown,  it  is  planted  in  a  semi-mountainous  region.  This  is 
a  great  disappointment.  They  told  me  of  a  farm  in  Louisa, 
Va.,  where  the  orr  s  is  being  cultivated  for  market.  I  would 
like  very  much  to  visit  that  farm  and  see  for  myself,  but  my 
time  is  limited,  as  I  have  promised  to  attend  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  South  Carolina  branch  of  the  Women's  Auxiliary 
at  Orangeburg,  May  31.  One  must  have  plenty  of  patience 
to  attempt  the  cultivation  of  orris,  for  the  root  should  not  be 
dug  until  it  is  two  years  old,  and  then  it  has  to  be  kept  two 
years  before  its  perfume  develops. 

Another  thing  I  had  much  at  heart  was  to  take  some  les- 
sons in  photography  and  to  buy  a  good  camera.  I  could  do 
so  much  more  if  I  could  illustrate  things  with  good  photo- 
graphs of  the  odd  and  picturesque  things  I  so  constantly  see ; 
but,  alas,  I  am  going  away  without  having  made  any  prog- 
ress in  this  direction,  time  and  other  things  lacking. 

Juno  6. 

Peaceville.  At  home  once  more  and  the  great  big  white 
rooms  of  the  pineland  bungalow  are  very  restful  and  pleasant. 
That  is  the  one  luxury  we  enjoy  to  the  fullest  in  the  South 
■ —  space.  My  rooms  here  are  immense,  each  with  four 
windows  and  three  doors,  very  high  ceilings  and  a  broad 
piazza  around  the  whole. 

I  received  a  riotous  welcome  from  the  dogs  and  a  very 
hearty  one  from  Chloe,  Gerty,  and  the  Imp,  but  Chloe  seemed 
downcast  and  unlike  herself,  and  I  knew  there  was  some  bad 


180  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

news,  which  she  would  not  bring  out  until  I  had  had  my 
dinner.  While  I  was  away  I  had  several  letters  from  Chloe, 
in  one  of  which  she  announced  with  great  joy  that  sixty- 
three  fine  healthy  chicks  had  hatched  from  the  'cubator. 
So  when  I  had  finished  the  simple  but  delicious  meal  which 
she  had  prepared  for  me  I  asked  her  to  go  out  with  me  and 
show  me  the  chickens.  Then  she  poured  out  her  woes. 
The  night  before  she  moved  from  the  plantation  some  one  had 
climbed  the  six-foot  fence  and  stolen  twenty-five  of  the  pre- 
cious last-hatched  chicks.  She  said  when  she  found  it  out 
the  next  morning  she  sat  down  and  cried,  she  had  been  so 
proud  to  have  hatched  them  out  and  they  were  doing  so  well 
and  growing  so  fast.  I  sympathized  with  her.  Of  course  it 
was  a  great  blow  to  me,  but  she  was  in  such  deep  distress 
over  it  that  I  had  to  act  the  part  of  consoler,  though  I  was  the 
victim. 

She  went  on  to  say  :  "En  I  do'  kno'  who  carry  de  news  out 
say  I  cry  'bout  de  chicken,  but  I  s'pose  'twas  dat  wicket  boy 
Rab,  fu'  ebeybody  I  meet  say  'Eh,  eh!  I  yere  say  yu  cry 
'bout  chicken,  I'se  shock  to  yere  sech  a  ting  !  A  pusson  cry 
fu'  loss  'e  mudder  or  some  of  'e  fambly,  but  cry  fu'  chicken  ! 
No;  en  wusser  wen  'tain't  yo'  chicken.'"  This  taunt  and 
ridicule  seemed  to  have  sunk  deep  and  to  rankle  still.  She 
went  on  to  say  that  the  person  who  took  the  chickens  must 
have  been  well  known  to  the  dogs,  as  they  made  no  outcry, 
and  moreover  that  Rab  had  not  slept  at  home  that  night, 
saying  he  had  stayed  with  Willing,  which  all  looks  very  bad 
for  both  of  these  boys.  I  will  not  attempt  to  investigate,  for 
it  would  be  perfectly  useless. 

It  is  a  principle  firmly  maintained  that  one  negro  will  not 
give  testimony  against  another  unless  he  has  a  quarrel  with 
him,  and  then  he  will  say  anything  necessary  to  convict  him 
of  any  crime,  so  that  investigation  with  a  view  to  justice  is  a 
farce.     I  do  not  doubt  that  these  two  are  guilt}^,  for  Willing 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


187 


has  encouraged  Rab  to  return  to  his  old  habit  of  stealing  all 
the  eggs.  Bonaparte  found  a  spot  in  the  pasture,  with 
cans  and  many  egg-shells  and  remains  of  fire,  where  they  had 
a  regular  picnic  place.  When  he  asked  Rab  about  it,  he  said 
Willing  and  he  cooked  there  every  day  eggs,  potatoes,  any- 


"  1m 


MH!    :;H     Hi.v  {m      h  ■■'■       '- 


imam  m 


"  Eh,  eh,  I  yere  say  yu  cry  'bout  chicken." 


thing  else  they  wanted.  I  had  brought  Rab  a  beautiful 
outfit  from  Washington,  besides  the  ever  desired  mouth 
organ,  and,  after  a  consultation  with  Chloe,  I  determined 
to  give  them  to  him,  as  she  said  he  had  been  moderately  good 
while  I  was  gone  and  slept  out  only  that  one  night ;  and 
there  was  no  proof  against  him,  and  if  they  did  take  the 
chickens  of  course  the  older  boy  was  very  much  more  to 
blame.  I  would  not  on  any  account  accuse  them  of  such  a 
thing  unless  I  was  perfectly  certain,  for  I  think  that  is  the  way 
to  make  people  dishonest.     I  would  not  appear  to  think  it 


188 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


possible  that  any  one  about  the  yard  could  know  anything 
about  it.  I  only  reproached  Rab  with  having  been  absent 
that  night,  as  he  might  have  caught  the  thief. 

June  20. 

Drove  into  Cherokee  this  morning  on  my  way  to  Casa 
Bianca  and  found  Ruth  with  a  beautiful  filly  colt.     I  am  so 

pleased.  Ruth  is  very 
proud  and  brought  the 
colt  right  up  to  me  and 
the  little  thing  licked  my 
hand  and  let  me  stroke 
its  head.  I  went  on  in 
fine  spirits  after  admiring 
my  new  possession.  So 
many  things  go  wrong 
that  I  am  unduly  elated 
when  something  pleasant 
comes. 

Casa  Bianca  looked  per- 
fectly beautiful.     The 
place  is  so  lovely  that  it 
always  does  me  good  to  go 
there,  though  this  time  I 
had  dreaded  it  very  much. 
The  negroes  continue  to  fight  against  Nat,  and  there  is  very 
little  rice  planted,  and  they  will  not  work  that  little  properly. 
Nat  seems  to  do  his  best,  which  I'm  sure  is  a  mercy. 

Stopped  on  my  way  back  and  told  Willing  to  get  all  the 
milk  he  could  to-morrow  and  put  it  in  demijohns  ready  for 
me  to  take  out  with  me.  We  are  to  have  a  little  sale  of  ice- 
cream in  aid  of  our  auxiliary. 

June  21. 

Arose  at  6  and  hurried  through  breakfast  to  go  early  to  the 
plantation  and  get  through  my  work  there  and  bring  the 


The  Summer  Kitchen  at  Cherokee. 


A    WOMAN  RICE   PLANTER 


189 


milk  for  the  auxiliary.  To  my  great  disappointment  found 
Willing  had  less  milk  than  usual.  I  went  with  him  to  the 
field  and  made  him  milk  the  cows  over,  and  found  they  had 
an  abundance  and  he  had  only  half  milked ;  he  was  sulky 
about  it,  but  I  insisted  and  got  three  quarts  more,  then 
turned  the  calves  in  and  showed  Willing  how  much  they  were 
getting.  I  hurried  back  to  send  it 
to  the  ladies.  I  had  undertaken 
to  furnish  the  200  pounds  of  ice 
and  to  make  a  churn  of  cream 
myself.  Such  a  time  as  I  had  *? 
freezing  it !  I  never  had 
done  it  before,  as  long  ago 
I  read  all  the  directions  to 
Jim,  who  always  did  it. 
I  supposed  Chloe  knew 
how,  but  she  had  forgot- 
ten, if  she  ever  knew,  and  ,, 
I  spent  nearly  two  hours 
down  on  my  knees  work- 
ing with  the  thing.  Like 
everything  else,  it  is  easy  if 
you  know  how,  but  this 
was  terrific.     However,  it  was  finished  in  time. 

In  the  little  hamlet  of  Peaceville  truly  the  simple  life,  now 
so  much  vaunted  and  preached,  is  lived.  A  community 
of  gentle  folk,  about  sixteen  households,  most  of  the  families 
were  wealthy  in  the  time  prior  to  1860,  and  all  well  born. 
Now  theirs  is  a  life  of  privation  and  labor,  and  borne  without 
murmur  or  repining,  and  they  are  gentle  folk  emphatically. 
With  the  mercury  for  weeks  over  90,  and  sometimes  98,  there 
is  but  one  family  who  can  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  ice.  Until 
this  summer  I  have  always  got  200  pounds  a  week,  but  things 
are  changed  by  the  failure  of  rice  and  I  have  given  it  up,  as 


The  Winter  Kitchen  at  Cherokee. 


190 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


by  the  time  I  get  it  from  the  nearest  town,  eighteen  miles  away, 
the  200  pounds  cost  $1.50.  Every  one  is  much  excited  over 
the  sale,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  they  gather  at  the  little 
schoolhouse,  across  the  road  from  my  gate,  which  had  been 
selected  for  the  event.  The  five  ice-cream  churns  are  grouped 
under  a  tree  and  two  or  three  tables  placed  around,  while 
the  benches  from  the  schoolhouse  are  placed  about  as  seats. 
Two  ladies  down  on  their  knees  serve  out  the  cream  to  the 
excited  string  of  children,  who  bring  their  nickels  clasped 


The  string  of  excited  children. 

tightly  in  their  hand.  Two  other  ladies  have  a  large  dish 
pan  and  towels  and  keep  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  saucers 
and  spoons,  while  one  with  a  little  basket  receives  the  nickels. 
The  five-cent  saucers  are  very  big,  but  I  call  to  mind  how 
rarely  these  children  ever  taste  ice-cream  and  what  self- 
denial  on  the  part  of  the  mother  each  nickel  represents,  and 
so  our  results  are  not  as  large  as  they  might  be.  My  churn 
is  pure  cream  as  that  is  the  only  kind  I  can  make,  but  it  is 
not  nearly  so  popular  as  the  others  which  are  made  of  custard 
with  different  flavorings.  Finally,  after  a  period  of  great 
activity  I  hear  "All  gone  but  the  Newport  vanilla"  (that  is 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  191 

mine)  and  the  answer  comes,  "Well,  if  there  is  nothing  else  I 
will  take  that,"  and  everything  is  gone  and  the  benches 
are  put  back  in  the  schoolhouse  and  the  tables  are  carried 
home,  and  we  have  made  $8  for  our  auxiliary,  not  much, 
but  it  represents  a  good  deal  of  labor  and  self  sacrifice  on 
the  part  of  the  women  who  have  given  their  material  and  their 
time,  for  al  the  things  are  contributed  by  different  members 
and  so  we  have  no  bills  to  pay.  This  will  go  to  a  cot  in  the 
hospital  at  Shanghai  in  memory  of  Bishop  Howe  and  for  a 
Bible  woman  in  Japan.  A  mite  truly,  but  God  grant  it  may 
be  blessed. 

June  22. 

Rose  at  5,  skimmed  and  set  the  churn.  It  is  very  hot,  and 
having  no  ice  there  is  no  chance  of  good  butter  except  by 
handling  it  very  early.  When  I  went  to  the  plantation, 
I  found  that  my  two  English  side-saddles  had  been  left  on 
a  rack  in  the  piazza  where  I  had  them  moved  this  spring 
from  the  stuffy  harness  room,  but  I  didn't  mean  them  to 
stay  there  always ;  it  is  scarcely  safe  now  that  I  have  moved 
to  the  village  and  there  is  no  one  in  the  yard  ;  so  this  after- 
noon I  called  Gibbie  to  bring  them  into  the  house.  He 
brought  the  first  and  placed  it  on  the  rack,  and  I  covered  it 
with  a  large  white  cloth  and  he  went  for  the  other. 

As  he  came  with  it  I  heard  a  strange  rumbling  noise. 
"What  is  that  ?"  I  asked.  Gibbie  is  quite  deaf  and  answered 
that  he  heard  nothing.  I  went  on:  "It  is  either  a  steam- 
boat on  the  river  or  an  approaching  tornado." 

Still  Gibbie  heard  nothing,  but  as  he  was  about  to  put 
down  the  saddle  I  became  aware  that  the  noise  came  from  it. 
"Take  it  back  quickly  to  the  piazza,  Gibbie,  and  put  it  down 
gently."  I  followed,  and  as  he  set  it  down  out  from  the 
inside  crawled  a  bumblebee,  and  then  another  and  another. 
The  bees  had  excavated  the  padding  and  built  inside  of  the 
saddle,  leaving  only  the  small  hole  which  they  had  bored 


192  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

visible.  The  saddle  might  have  been  put  on  a  horse's  back 
and  girthed  on  before  the  bees  stirred,  and  what  a  circus 
there  would  have  been. 

Nothing  would  induce  Gibbie  to  touch  it  again.  He  fled 
clown  the  piazza  steps,  and  the  saddle  remains  upside  down 
on  a  stand.  I  do  not  know  how  to  get  rid  of  the  things. 
The  sting  of  the  bumblebee  is  said  to  be  more  severe  than  that 
of  the  honey-bee.  If  I  pour  hot  water  down  the  hole,  as  I 
first  thought  of  doing,  the  saddle  will  be  ruined,  and  I  do  not 
know  how  else  to  reach  them.  Certainly  strange  things 
happen  to  me  ! 

When  I  reached  Peaceville  at  three  o'clock  the  mercury 
in  the  coolest  spot  on  the  piazza  marked  96,  and  I  was  so 
thirsty.  Alas  the  artesian  water  brought  and  kept  in  a 
demijohn  is  lukewarm  and  there  is  no  use  pretending  that 
it  is  refreshing.  The  well  water  is  cool,  but  it  has  a  taste 
which  makes  me  prefer  the  tepid  contents  of  the  demijohn. 
I  have  made  great  efforts  to  cool  it ;  sewed  it  up  in  cloth 
and  swung  it  from  a  nail  in  the  piazza  —  all  in  vain.  From 
contrast  to  my  expectations,  I  suppose,  it  seems  hotter  than 
ever,  so  I  gulp  down  the  clear  liquid,  saying  to  myself,  "  you 
are  obeying  one  of  the  first  laws  of  health  in  not  drinking  cold 
water  — only  fools  fill  their  digestive  organs  with  icy  fluid." 

Peaceville,  July  18. 

Rose  at  5  o'clock  and  had  breakfast  before  6  o'clock,  so  as 
to  make  an  early  start  to  drive  to  Gregory  to  attend  the 
farmers'  meeting  and  hear  the  lectures  by  the  agricultural 
experts.  The  heat  is  so  great  that  the  early  morning  or 
late  afternoon  is  the  only  time  to  travel. 

I  got  through  the  eighteen  mile  drive  very  quickly  it 
seemed  to  me,  for  it  had  looked  interminable  to  my  mind's 
eye  when  I  started,  and  had  an  hour  in  town  before  the 
meeting. 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER  193 

The  hall  was  quite  full  and  I  was  very  glad  when  D.  came 
forward  and  met  me  and  ushered  me  in.  It  was  quite  a 
tribute  to  him  that  so  many  of  the  most  primitive  farmers 
came.  They  looked  quite  lost  until  he  met  them  at  the  door 
and  found  seats  for  them  Avith  a  delightful  courtesy  and 
interest. 

I  saw  many  that  I  knew  rarely  left  the  deep  recesses  of  the 
pine  forest,  and  it  was  quite  touching  to  see  the  attention 
with  which  they  listened.  Near  me  were  two  I  knew  well, 
quite  young  lads,  whose  life  had  been  spent  in  a  struggle 
with  the  soil,  beginning  as  small  boys ;  Colonel  Ben  and 
Solomon. 

I  had  handed  the  former  to  the  Bishop  to  be  christened. 
His  father  had  selected  as  his  name  "Colonel  Ben."  Fortu- 
nately I  asked  the  Bishop  about  it  before  the  service  began, 
and  he  answered,  "He  cannot  be  christened  Colonel  Ben. 
They  can  call  him  by  that  name,  but  the  title  must  be  left  off 
in  the  service." 

When  I  repeated  this  to  the  mother  she  was  very  stolid 
and  said,  "Par,  he  named  him  Colonel  Ben,  en  he  wishes  him 
baptized  the  same." 

I  understood  it  entirely.  They  named  him  after  the  man 
who  had  done  most  for  them  in  their  lives.  He  had  been  a 
Colonel  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  after  the  war  became  a 
clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  their  desire  was  to 
name  the  baby  after  the  Colonel  and  not  after  the  priest. 

Poor  Colonel  Ben  has  had  a  hard,  limited  life,  but  has 
worked  faithfully  tilling  the  soil  on  his  father's  large  farm. 
The  unwonted  excitement  of  a  visit  to  the  county-seat  to 
hear  a  man  tell  him  how  to  do  what  he'd,  been  doing  all  his 
life  was  most  astounding.  As  they  tiptoed  behind  D.  into 
the  rather  dark  room  filled  with  people  I  think  it  would  have 
taken  little  to  make  them  turn  and  run  to  the  shelter  of  the 
woods. 


194  A    WOMAN  IiWE  PLANTER 

However,  they  settled  down  and  after  furtive  looks  around 
devoted  themselves  to  trying  to  make  out  what  the  speaker 
was  saying.  For  a  long  time  it  seemed  to  me  they  were 
getting  nothing.  It  was  all  a  confused  talk  to  them,  and  then 
he  said  something  which  roused  them  to  interest:  "And 
now  I  will  tell  you  how  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  good 
from  your  barn-yard  manure,"  and  he  proceeded  to  urge 
them  to  haul  it  on  to  the  fields  as  fast  as  it  accumulated. 

Both  Colonel  Ben  and  Solomon  leaned  further  and  further 
forward  in  their  desire  not  to  lose  one  of  the  precious  words  of 
wisdom.  It  was  lucky  that  the  two  seats  in  front  of  them 
were  vacant,  for  the  long  arms  were  far  over  the  seat,  while 
the  eager  faces  tried  to  bring  the  huge  hearing  members 
nearer  to  the  speaker.  I  felt  quite  delighted  that  they  had 
found  something  available,  something  they  could  carry  home. 

It  is  hard  for  an  educated  speaker  to  realize  how  his  fluent 
speech  slips  off  the  rustic  brain  like  water  flowing  over  a  rock. 
They  cannot  absorb  it ;  it  is  all  over  before  they  have  caught  on. 

After  it  was  all  over  I  met  Colonel  Ben,  Solomon,  and  their 
father  wandering  along  the  street.  I  stopped  and  spoke, 
asked  them  if  they  were  going  to  the  banquet  which  had  been 
prepared  for  the  audience. 

No,  they  reckoned  they'd  be  gittin'  on  home. 

But  I  urged  them,  saying  I  felt  sure  R.  L.  A.  expected  them 
and  would  be  looking  for  them. 

"Wall,  he's  the  one  got  me  en  the  boys  into  this  trouble; 
he  wouldn't  take  no,  we  jest  had  to  cum,  en  hare  we  is." 

I  started  them  on  the  way  to  the  hall  and  hope  they  got 
there  and  enjoyed  the  substantial  lunch  provided.  No 
doubt  these  meetings  do  an  immense  deal  of  good  if  as  in 
this  instance  the  local  director  is  a  man  of  enthusiasm  and 
able  to  throw  it  into  the  work  and  take  an  interest  in  all  the 
individual  farmers  who  are  so  cut  off  from  the  interests  of  the 
rest  of  the  world. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  195 

They  think  that  to  scratch  over  many  acres  of  land,  guilt- 
less of  manure  or  help  of  any  kind,  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and 
then  to  have  all  the  family  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest 
turn  out  and  plant  the  corn  by  hand,  disturbing  it  as  little  as 
possible  by  work  until  it  is  ready  to  harvest,  is  to  be  a  farmer, 
and  they  are  satisfied.  In  the  spring  R.  L.  A.  was  trying  to 
persuade  one  of  these  very  satisfied  old  men  to  plant  a  few 
acres  under  the  direction  of  the  Department.  He  turned  on 
him. 

"Look  a'  yere,  young  man,"  he  said,  "I  bin  fa'ming  long 
before  y'u  ever  wus  thought  of,  en  I  want  y'u  to  onderstan' 
I  don't  believe  in  deep  ploughing  I  don't." 

R.  L.  A.  used  all  his  blandishments  until  the  old  man 
promised  to  plant  two  acres  by  his  directions,  beginning 
with  deep  ploughing.  He  told  me  that  when  he  went  back 
some  months  later  the  old  man  said  :  — ■ 

"Youngster,  I  don't  know  what's  the  reason,  but  I  kyan't 
get  any  of  my  corn  to  grow  but  them  two  akers  o'  yourn  — 
the  dry  drought  is  just  a-burning  up  the  rest  o'  my  corn." 

And  still  later  when  the  steady  rains  set  in  and  he  went  that 
way  the  old  man  clapped  him  on  the  back  and  said  with 
much  embellishment  of  action  :  — 

"Well,  you've  got  me;  the  rain's  done  finished  the  rest  of 
the  corn,  but  them  akers  of  yourn  jest  keep  on  a-growin' 
en  a-growin',  en  I  jest  tell  you  now  next  year  I  plants  jest 
about  half  o'  what  I  bin  a-plantin'  en  I  ploughs  it  all  deep  en 
does  jest  es  you  tells  me  to  do." 

That  was  a  wonderful  triumph  for  the  young  director, 
and  he  tells  me  there  are  many  such  cases. 

July  21. 

Having  land  prepared  for  turnips,  which  are  a  very  im- 
portant winter  crop  for  us.  The  corn  and  cotton  both  look 
very  well,  also  the  potatoes,  and  the  little  amount  of  rice 
planted  is  fine.     The  agricultural  society  of  the  State  has 


196  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

offered  a  prize  of  $100  for  the  best  results  in  hay  from  five 
acres  of  alfalfa  during  1906,  and  I  have  determined  to  enter 
the  contest.  I  know  I  cannot  get  the  prize,  but  trying  for  it 
will  make  me  more  careful  in  planting  and  preparing  the  land. 
They  give  very  exact  directions  and  insist  on  a  great  deal  of 
fertilizer  being  used  —  that  is,  what  seems  to  me  a  great 
deal,  and  I  never  would  spend  all  that  money  unless  I  were  in 
a  way  forced  to  it  by  entering  the  contest.  I  am  now  read- 
ing everything  I  can  find  on  the  subject  of  alfalfa,  and  there 
is  a  great  deal  to  be  found. 

Wrote  to  George  T.  Moore  for  inoculating  material  for 
alfalfa.  I  am  so  delighted  that  he  is  back  in  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  so  that  I  can  write  to  him.  I  have  been  miser- 
able over  what  I  considered  the  great  injustice  to  him,  and 
am  so  thankful  that  amends  have  been  made  and  he  has  been 
reinstated. 

I  am  so  happy  to-day  over  a  check  received  from  a  liberal 
paymaster  that  I  am  quite  stupid.  I  had  sent  off  the  last 
money  I  had  in  the  bank  for  fertilizer  for  the  alfalfa,  and  was 
feeling  anxious,  and  now  I  am  so  relieved. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Peaceville,  July  23. 

WITH  great  difficulty  got  Chloe  off  to  Gregory  to  make 
a  visit  to  her  daughter  and  see  her  grandchildren. 
I  have  to  push  and  force  Chloe  to  take  the  smallest 
holiday  or  relaxation.  She  cannot  drive,  so  of  course  I  had 
to  send  Dab  to  be  her  charioteer. 

I  told  her  to  broil  a  nice,  'cubator  chicken  and  put  it  in  the 
safe,  and  I  have  a  very  nice  loaf  of  bread  which  I  made  yester- 
day, and  with  delicious  fresh  butter  and  tomatoes  I  will  be 
independent  of  cooks  for  two  whole  days. 

In  this  blessed  hamlet  of  Peaceville,  Bible  methods  prevail 
to  a  great  extent,  and  people  do  as  they  would  be  done  by. 
One  finds  out  what  vegetable  one's  neighbor  is  short  of,  and 
if  you  happen  to  have  that  special  thing  in  abundance,  you 
fill  a  basket,  put  a  dainty  doily  over  it,  and  despatch  your 
inevitable  small  boy  to  your  neighbor  with  a  pleasant  message. 
Of  course  she  is  too  delicate  to  return  her  abundant  vege- 
table by  the  same  messenger,  but  later  in  the  clay  or  the  next 
morning  arrives  her  small  boy  with  a  dainty  covered  tray,  and 
you  receive  a  supply  of  the  vegetable  you  lack  with  an 
elegant  note. 

I  planted  a  great  many  tomatoes,  but  for  want  of  work 
during  my  month's  absence  they  are  very  backward,  while 
my  dear  friend  and  neighbor,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word, 
Miss  Penelope,  has  an  abundance  of  large,  smooth  red  to- 
matoes, and  daily  I  receive  a  little  tray  of  them.  I  have  only 
very  prosaic  vegetables  as  yet,  beans  and  Irish  potatoes,  but 

197 


198 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  199 

they  are  fine  and  plentiful,  so  Dab  makes  expeditions  with 
the  tray,  but  without  the  note  which  is  Peaceville  etiquette 
—  a  little  note  asking  particularly  the  state  of  your  health 
and  mentioning  the  height  of  the  mercury,  and  saying  that 
*  though  doubtless  it  is  sending  coals  to  Newcastle  you  venture 
to  offer  some  of  your  poor  products. 

I  have  a  box  tacked  on  the  wall  by  my  writing-table  into 
which  I  drop  all  the  notes  received.  I  keep  them,  for  they 
breathe  such  kindliness,  and  seem  an  echo  of  the  past  when 
people  had  time  to  think  of  others.  By  the  end  of  the  sum- 
mer they  would  nearly  fill  a  half  bushel. 

To-day  I  tried  to  conceal  the  fact  of  Chloe's  absence.  I 
was  invited  out  to  dinner,  but  I  was  so  exhausted  after  the 
service  that  I  was  not  equal  to  going.  Though  I  had  made 
every  effort  to  get  Chloe  off  before  service,  she  was  not  ready 
when  I  left,  so  I  told  her  to  lock  up  the  house  and  put  the 
key  under  the  pot  of  heliotrope  on  the  shelf  in  the  piazza, 
where  I  found  it,  and  opening  the  door,  which  gave  light 
enough  for  me  to  read  by,  I  lay  on  the  lounge  in  the  dark, 
shut-up  house  till  afternoon,  when  I  felt  sufficiently  rested 
to  get  up  and  take  my  frugal,  but  delicious,  repast  of  cold 
chicken,  bread  and  butter  and  raw  tomatoes.  Thanks  to 
one  of  my  unknown,  far-away  friends,  I  can  enjoy  my 
glass  of  artesian  water.  He  wrote  from  Saratoga,  suggest- 
ing that  I  should  fill  a  stone  jug  with  the  artesian  water, 
attach  a  long  rope,  and  sink  it  in  the  well.  I  have  done 
this,  and  by  this  simple  expedient  I  have  delightful,  pure 
drinking  water  at  a  temperature  of  63  degrees,  without 
having  ice.  When  the  mercury  is  soaring  in  the  90s  63 
seems  cold,  and  I  do  not  ask  for  better.  Except  for  keep- 
ing the  milk  and  butter  and  having  a  treat  of  ice-cream 
occasionally  I  really  do  not  miss  ice,  now  that  my  little 
brown  jug  is  swung  in  the  well,  and  I  am  very  grateful  to 
my  far-away  friend. 


200 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


At  dark  arrives  Miss  Penelope  bearing  a  large  tray,  "Oh, 
my  dear,  I  have  just  heard  that  Chloe  and  Dab  were  seen 
this  morning  driving  out  of  the  village  and  have  never  been 
seen  to  return  !  And  to  think  of  your  being  all  alone  here, 
and  we  not  knowing  !  And  we  had  such  a  delightful  dinner  ! 
If  only  I  had  known  !  But  I  have  brought  you  a  bowl  of 
cold  okra  soup  and  a  little  dish  of  ice-cream,  for  we  had  a 
celebration  to-day,  a  birthday  dinner." 
■S^^&^^&^ .         As  soon  as  I  could  I  told  her  I  had 

had  a  dinner  fit  for  a  king,  and 
now  this  wonderful  and  deli- 
cious treat  of  ice-cream  made 
it  perfect. 

I  read S.  D.  Gordon's  "Quiet 
Talks  on  Power"  all  day  in  the 
darkened  room,  and  I  feel  as 
though  I  might  develop  into  a 
dynamo  of  the  first  order. 

Peaceville  is  one  of  the  cor- 
ners of  the  world  where  Sunday 
No  one  thinks  of  reading  a  novel  or 
The  Spirit  of  Missions, 


I  really  do  not  miss  ice,  now 
that  my  little  brown  jug  is 
swung  in  the  well. 


is  carefully  observed 

even  a  magazine  on  the  day  of  rest. 

the  Churchman,  the  Diocese,  and  sermons  are  the  only  mental 

food  digestible  on  that  day.     I  often  find  myself  reading 

"The  Spectator"  in  the  Outlook,  but  if  a  neighbor  comes  in  I 

put  it  hastily  out  of  sight. 

Last  Sunday  my  dear  Miss  Penelope,  whose  whole  life  is  a 
sermon  of  unselfish  devotion  and  service,  never  resting,  for 
on  Sunday  after  her  laborious  six  days  in  the  "store"  — 
which  has  done  such  wonderful  things,  supporting  the  family, 
educating  all  the  younger  members  and  finally  paying  off 
the  mortgage  on  the  plantation  —  she  is  our  sole  dependence 
as  an  organist  and  she  never  fails  us.  She  understands  the 
"instrument,"  as  the  organ  is  always  called  by  Peacevillians. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  201 

This  special  organ  is  her  own,  which  she  has  lent  the 
church.  The  one  which  belongs  to  the  church  was  originally 
a  fine  organ  and  was  given  to  this  little  chapel  some  thirty 
years  ago  by  a  rich  young  man  in  New  York,  who  had  it  for 
his  own  use  and  who  was  dying  and  expressed  the  wish  that 
it  should  go  to  some  place  where  it  would  do  good.  Our 
little  church  was  without  one  and  the  rector  happening  to 
be  in  New  York  at  the  time,  it  was  given  to  him.  From 
that  day  to  this  it  has  been  in  use  constantly,  and  without 
repair. 

Church  mice  are  proverbially  active  and  they  showed 
great  fondness  for  the  material  of  the  bellows,  so  that  the 
"instrument"  was  in  a  sad  and  wheezing  condition,  making 
respectable  sounds  difficult.  I,  being  an  optimist  of  the  first 
water  and  having  received  constant  proof  of  my  having  the 
right  view  of  life,  said  boldly  two  years  ago,  just  before 
the  storm  which  laid  us  all  low,  that  I  would  undertake  to 
pack  the  organ  and  send  it  away  to  be  repaired.  A  tuner 
who  came  to  tune  my  beloved  piano  that  spring  said  that 
he  would  repair  the  organ  for  $40  if  we  sent  to  it  him  in 
Carrolton. 

I  had  had  experience  of  the  great  liberality  of  the  makers 
of  my  piano  in  the  matter  of  exchange.  During  a  period  of 
forty  years  more  or  less  I  have  had  four  pianos.  Each  time 
that  by  some  good  fortune  I  felt  I  might  give  myself  the 
blessing  of  a  new  piano  I  wrote  to  the  makers  and  told 
them  I  was  sending  on  the  old  piano  and  wished  a  new  one. 
They  always  allowed  me  a  handsome  price  for  the  old  piano. 
Reasoning  from  this  experience  that  all  great  makers  would 
act  in  the  same  way,  I  wrote  to  Boston  to  say  I  was  sending 
the  organ  for  repair  or  exchange,  as  seemed  best  to  them,  and 
asking  their  best  terms,  stating  that  by  this  parish  there  had 
been  bought  five  melodeons  of  their  make,  including  two 
baby  organs. 


202  A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 

Immediately  came  a  letter  to  say  the  repairs  would  cost 
$80  and  when  they  were  made  the  organ  would  be  worth  $250. 
I  wrote  back  in  despair  to  say  we  could  not  possibly  raise 
$80  for  repairs,  but  would  accept  any  melodeon  they  would 
send  in  exchange  for  our  organ,  which  by  their  estimate  was 
now  worth  $170.  The  answer  came  promptly  —  they  could 
not  offer  any  exchange ;  the  organ  was  in  their  way ;  please 
answer  at  once. 

So  here  am  I,  having  sent  off  the  property  of  the  church  on 
my  own  responsibility,  and  it  will  probably  lapse  by  dint  of 
possession  before  we  can  possibly  raise  $80  for  the  repairs. 
At  night  when  I  am  very  tired,  the  organ  has  a  way  of  rising 
up  before  me  in  accusation  and  I  feel  it  is  an  "instrument" 
worthy  of  the  Inquisition. 

It  has  been  two  years  now  an  unwelcome  guest  in  its 
childhood's  Boston  home.  Meantime  we  are  using  Miss 
Penelope's  organ,  which  is  not  fair,  for  she  can  never  practise 
the  hymns  at  home,  having  no  instrument. 

I  began  all  this  to  tell  of  Miss  Penelope's  temptation. 
Last  Sunday  afternoon  the  unwonted  sight  of  an  automobile 
struck  the  village.  Great  excitement  among  all  those  who 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  strolling  along  the  dusty  road, 
among  whom  was  Miss  Penelope. 

The  occupants  proved  to  be  friends  of  hers  and  when  they 
got  out  to  make  a  visit  in  the  village  they  asked  her  and  two 
ladies  with  her  to  get  in  the  machine  and  take  a  little  turn. 
Now,  Miss  Penelope  had  never  been  in  an  auto  and  she  ac- 
cepted at  once.  They  went  two  or  three  blissful  miles 
and  then  came  the  awakening.  Every  face  they  met  was 
set  in  solemn  wonder  that  she,  Miss  Penelope,  a  pillar  of  the 
church  (if  the  church  is  ever  allowed  confessedly  to  rest  on 
feminine  foundation),  should  ride  in  an  auto  on  Sunday. 

Words  failed,  but  looks  were  all  powerful.  That  night 
she  said  to  me  :  — ■ 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  203 

"Patience,  I  am  so  ashamed  of  myself;  I  just  yielded  to 
temptation,  you  may  say,  without  a  struggle.  It  was  so  hot 
and  dusty  in  the  roads  and  the  thought  of  flying  through  the 
air  was  so  delightful  that  I  never  thought  of  it  being  Sunday 
and  accepted  the  invitation  at  once ;  and  it  was  the  most 
heavenly  sensation!  Mr.  A.  said  the  road  was  clear  and 
he  could  exceed  the  speed  limit  without  danger,  and  it  really 
was  like  a  trip  to  Europe,  so  elevating  and  delightful ;  but  as 
soon  as  I  stepped  down  from  the  car  I  realized  how  wicked 
I  had  been." 

"My  dear,  I  do  not  agree  with  you  at  all,"  I  replied; 
"there  were  no  horses  being  driven  for  pleasure  on  their 
day  of  rest ;  there  was  nothing  but  the  cogs  and  wheels  of 
a  machine  and  half  a  pint  of  gasolene.  You  were  perfectly 
right  to  go.  Don't  mind  what  any  one  may  say.  It  was  a 
perfectly  innocent  recreation  and  refreshment,  which  you 
of  all  people  are  certainly  entitled  to." 

But  my  efforts  were  in  vain,  though  she  said:  "It  is  a 
great  comfort  to  find  you  do  not  blame  me,  but  I  must  blame 
myself." 

July  24. 

Good  Miss  E.  spent  last  night  here  so  that  I  should  have 
some  one  near,  and  she  made  me  a  delicious  cup  of  coffee 
and  a  nice  little  breakfast  in  spite  of  all  I  could  say.  Then 
she  went  home,  and  I  fed  the  chickens  and  washed  up  the 
dishes  and  did  all  the  housework,  drawing  buckets  and 
buckets  of  water  from  the  well,  and  I  felt  so  proud  and  pleased 
with  myself  when  I  found  it  was  only  9  :  30  and  I  had  done 
all  the  work,  for  I  had  to  do  Dab's  as  well  as  Chloe's. 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  know  just  what  the  work  is,  and  if 
you  do  it  once  yourself  you  know  just  what  the  labor  is.  It 
is  not  a  third  of  the  amount  of  work  I  had  supposed. 

After  finishing  I  sat  down  in  the  door  of  the  sitting  room 
to  get  every  breath  of  air  and  embroidered  and  had  a  day  of 


204  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

luxury  —  no  interruptions,  except  when  one  waiter  arrived 
with  tomatoes,  another  with  a  muskmelon,  and  just  at  noon 
a  specially  dainty  little  tray  with  a  glass  of  blackberry  shrub 
and,  0  joy,  a  lump  of  ice  in  it. 

I  do  not  know  when  I  have  had  such  a  quiet,  peaceful 
day.  As  the  horse  and  vehicle  were  gone  I  had  no  way  of 
going  to  the  plantation,  which  is  my  daily  duty,  and  so  felt 
free  to  enjoy  myself, 

July  28. 

My  poor  Chloe  is  very  ill  with  rheumatism  —  it  is  dis- 
tressing, she  suffers  so.  Dab  is  distinguishing  himself  and 
so  am  I. 

I  rise  at  five,  so  as  to  churn  and  knead  and  do  my  part 
of  Chloe's  work.  Dab  does  the  cooking  very  well  and  with 
enthusiasm.  I  am  conscious  that  with  both  of  us  it  is  the 
enthusiasm  of  new  brooms  and  am  looking  with  terror  to 
the  inevitable  slump. 

I  have  never  been  an  early  riser,  and  the  thought  of  the 
stern  resolution  I  have  made,  to  get  up  at  five  punctually, 
keeps  me  waking  up  all  night  long.  I  strike  a  match,  look 
at  the  little  clock  on  the  table  at  the  head  of  the  bed,  and 
think  with  delight  how  many  hours  there  are  before  the  fate- 
ful five  strikes.  I  am  losing  pounds  daily  in  the  process, 
but  make  up  in  pride  over  my  strenuosity. 

On  the  plantation  the  struggle  to  get  all  the  peas  ploughed 
in  for  hay  is  most  exhausting.  Gibbie  says  he  is  sick,  and 
I  have  engaged  Loppy  to  do  it,  but  he  finds  fault  with  the 
team  and  the  plough. 

Sunday,  July  30. 

A  pleasant  service  and  good  sermon  in  our  little  church. 
When  I  got  home  to  my  great  joy  found  C.  and  John.  We 
got  out  the  little  old  black  leather-covered  trunks  which 
came  from  the  log  house,  where  they  were  stored,  and  looked 
over  some  of  the  papers  in  them. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  205 

Found  many  old  letters  from  grandmother  to  papa  when 
he  was  at  West  Point,  beautiful  letters,  urging  on  him  duty, 
discipline,  and  diligence.  Oh,  what  an  inestimable  blessing 
to  a  boy  to  have  such  a  mother  and  to  value  the  letters  so 
that  here  almost  a  century  later  they  are  found  carefully 
kept ;  I  suppose  all  she  wrote,  for  postage  was  so  high  then 
that  letters  were  not  an  everyday  or  a  weekly  matter. 

August  24. 

Reading  with  great  pleasure  the  "Life  and  Letters  of 
Washington  Allston,"  and  came  upon  so  many  bits  of  wis- 
dom which  I  would  like  to  keep,  for  instance  :  — ■ 

"  Confidence  is  the  soul  of  genius.  ...  A  little  season- 
able vanity  is  the  best  friend  we  can  have." 

"It  was  a  saying  of  Alcibiades,  and  I  believe  a  very  just 
one,  that  'When  souls  of  a  certain  order  did  not  perform  all 
they  wished  it  was  because  they  had  not  courage  to  attempt 
all  they  could.'" 

All  this  written  by  my  great-uncle  Washington  Allston, 
August  24,  1801,  to  the  artist  Charles  Frazer  —  to-day  109 
years  ago.  We  have  a  very  beautiful  miniature  of  him  and 
it  has  the  face  of  a  wise  man  and  almost  a  saint. 

Peaceville,  September  1. 

A  beautiful  morning,  though  clouds  are  still  flying.  Every- 
thing is  fresh  and  sparkling  after  the  rain. 

Had  a  terrible  temptation  —  a  letter  yesterday  from  A.  C. 
begging  me  to  join  her  in  Columbia  to-morrow  and  make 
the  journey  with  her  to  Highlands,  where  my  sisters  and 
their  families  are.  All  summer  J.  has  been  urging  me  to 
spend  the  hot  months  with  her,  and  sent  the  check  for  my 
travelling  expenses,  which  I  returned,  as  it  seemed  to  me 
my  duty  to  stay  here. 

Now  the  thought  of  that  wonderful  exhilarating  climate 


206  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

and  beautiful  scenery  with  all  my  dear  ones  was  too  much 
for  me.  I  determined  to  go.  Drove  to  Cherokee  and  gave 
Bonaparte  directions  for  the  conduct  of  everything  during 
my  absence,  specially  the  curing  of  my  precious  pea-vine 
hay.  Sent  word  to  the  ferryman  to  have  the  flat  on  this 
side  of  the  river  at  3 :  30  a.m.  Had  the  shafts  taken  off  and 
pole  on  the  buckboard,  so  as  to  drive  the  pair,  as  I  wished  to 
take  my  steamer  trunk  with  me. 

It  would  be  necessary  to  leave  here  at  2 :  10  a.m.  to  take 
the  6  a.m.  train,  though  it  is  only  eighteen  miles;  but  the 
ferry  represents  an  unknown  quantity.  After  all  was  done 
I  felt  very  light-hearted.  To  turn  my  back  on  heat  and 
worry,  on  discouragement  and  continual  effort,  was  delight- 
ful and  I  walked  down  to  the  barn-yard  with  light  and  springy 
tread. 

On  my  way  the  gorgeous  sunset  struck  me  and  I  stopped, 
spellbound  by  its  infinite  beauty.  Oh,  the  tenderness  of 
the  light,  fleecy  pink  clouds ;  oh,  the  passionate  red  of  the 
darker  ones ;  oh,  the  golden  glow  of  the  horizon  !  Could 
anything  hold  more  intense  beauty  and  delight  ?  Could 
one  look  at  that  and  shrink  from  toil  and  moil  and  sweat 
in  the  path  of  duty  ?  Was  I  a  coward  ?  Was  I  a  shirk  ? 
Had  I  not  chosen  my  own  path  and  was  I  too  much  of  a 
weakling  to  walk  in  it  ?  Was  I  willing  to  leave  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day  for  two  old  darkies  to  struggle  through 
alone  ? 

I  stood  there  filling  my  soul  with  beauty  and  strength 
until  the  last  beam  faded,  then  went  to  old  Bonaparte  and 
countermanded  all  my  orders.  It  was  all  easily  done  except 
to  notify  the  ferryman  that  he  need  not  be  ready  for  me,  and 
I  wall  send  him  a  little  present  to  make  up  for  that.  I  have 
but  one  distress.  I  wrote  to  my  sister  by  to-day's  mail  to 
say  if  it  was  possible  to  do  it  I  would  go,  and  I  hate  to  think 
of  her  disappointment. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  207 

I  drove  back  to  the  pineland  in  my  little  old  rattling  buck- 
board,  it  being  too  late  to  have  the  pole  taken  off  of  the  other 
one,  and  a  great  peace  filled  me.  Chloe  was  overjoyed  at 
my  change  of  plan,  though  she  had  encouraged  my  going  in 
every  way  and  had  my  trunk  all  packed.  As  for  Goliah, 
he  fairly  glittered  with  joy,  which  condition  was  contributed 
to  by  the  habit  he  has  taken  up  recently  of  greasing  his 
broad  little  black  face  very  thoroughly  with  the  vaseline  I 
provide  for  keeping  the  harness  soft.  He  seems  to  find  in- 
finite comfort  from  rubbing  a  quantity  on  his  hands  and  then 
massaging  his  face  very  hard  with  both  hands.  It  always 
amuses  me,  it  is  such  an  odd  thing  for  a  child  to  do. 

September  4. 

A  glorious  autumn  day,  really  cold.  I  was  very  busy 
all  morning  bottling  some  blackberry  wine  made  in  1903. 
Somehow  there  was  great  haste  all  day.  At  the  plantation 
got  very  unhappy  over  the  fear  of  cockspurs  in  the  hay.  It 
is  impossible  to  make  the  negroes  understand  the  importance 
of  destroying  them.  Last  year  the  horses  had  none  of  the 
best  hay.  It  was  all  kept  for  the  cows  because  there  were 
a  few  cockspurs  in  it. 

The  scuppernong  grapes  are  ripening  very  fast  and  are 
delicious. 

September  6. 

I  certainly  have  been  rewarded  for  not  going  to  the  moun- 
tains, for  the  mountain  coolness  has  come  to  me  —  the 
weather  has  been  perfect  since  the  day  after  my  decision. 
This  morning  Nat  came  from  Casa  Bianca  looking  more  cheer- 
ful than  usual.    He  told  me  he  had  nearly  sold  my  cow  Onyx. 

I  received  this  rather  coldly  with  the  commonplace  as  to 
a  miss  being  equal  to  a  mile  in  such  cases.  He  said  Mr.  E. 
had  come  up  with  his  brother  to  look  at  the  cow  and  asked 
him  the  price  and  he  answered  $27.50,  and  that  the  brother 


208  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

took  out  the  money  and  counted  it  out  into  his  hands  when 
Mr.  E.  came  up  and  said  :  — ■ 

"I  can  make  a  better  bargain  with  Mrs.  Pennington  than 
that.     I'll  write  to  her.     Take  back  your  money." 

"  Nat  said  :  '  De  money  luk  very  sweet  een  my  han's,  but  I 
gie  um  back  to  de  gen'leman.     Yu  get  letter  frum  em  yet  ?' " 

"No,"  I  said,  "but  I  can't  imagine  what  made  you  say 
$27.50  for  that  cow  with  her  splendid  calf.  I  never  said 
less  than  $30.     I  am  glad  that  trade  is  off." 

This  was  true  and  yet  not  true.  I  never  would  have  sold 
Onyx  for  less  than  $30  myself,  but  if  Nat  had  brought  the 
smaller  sum  at  this  moment  I  would  not  have  reproved  him, 
as  the  constant  call  of  the  laborers  to  be  paid  presses  on 
me  daily. 

After  much  wandering  talk  Nat  took  from  his  pocket  a 
roll  of  money  and  counted  it  out  to  me,  saying :  "Ef  I  ain't 
succeed  to  sell  de  cow,  I  dun  sell  John  Smit  fu  t'irty  dolla'  !" 
and  there  it  was. 

I  was  too  thankful  for  words  and  yet  sorry  to  part  with 
John  Smith,  a  handsome,  long-legged  Brahmin  steer,  who 
travels  like  a  horse.  However,  as  he  is  not  yet  three  years 
old  it  is  a  fine  sale  and  I  praised  Nat  accordingly  and  gave 
him  a  dollar.  Every  time  I  think  I  am  going  to  have  a  fine 
young  pair  of  oxen  I  find  myself  obliged  to  part  with  them 
and  be  content  with  my  faithful  old  ones,  for  there  is  always 
good  sale  for  the  steers  even  when  nothing  else  sells. 

At  Cherokee  I  saw  no  sign  of  Gibbie,  but  was  pleased  to  see 
the  three  milch  cows  tethered  in  the  lush  grass  of  the  corn- 
field. I  have  long  tried  to  get  Gibbie  to  do  this,  in  vain ; 
it  is  not  the  habit  in  this  country,  and  Gibbie  is  sure  would 
have  fatal  results.  What  made  him  come  to  it  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  was  delighted  to  see  them  knee  deep  in  grass, 
evidently  satisfied,  for  they  were  not  eating,  only  chewing 
their  cud  meditatively. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  209 

I  passed  on  to  the  house  and  after  a  while  went  down  to 
the  garden  to  see  about  the  turnips.  Just  as  I  was  about 
to  cross  the  little  foot  bridge  which  leads  from  the  barn-yard 
I  saw  basking  on  the  plank  a  terrible  looking  moccasin.  I 
turned  away  to  get  a  stick  long  enough  and  strong  enough 
to  give  me  courage  to  attack  him.  When  I  came  back  armed 
the  snake  had  disappeared,  and  I  was  about  to  cross  when 
some  instinct  warned  me  to  look  well,  and  there  just  under 
the  bridge  in  the  flowers  and  grass  that  grew  so  luxuriantly 
as  almost  to  touch  it,  I  saw  the  beady  eyes  in  the  erect  asp- 
like head  fixed  on  me. 

I  summoned  all  my  nerve  and  after  a  severe  struggle  killed 
the  deadly  thing.  Even  after  I  threw  it  some  distance  away 
with  my  strong  staff  it  was  hard  to  make  myself  cross  the 
narrow  bridge.  I  finally  did  get  into  the  garden  and  found 
the  turnips  in  great  need  of  work. 

On  my  way  back  I  looked  into  the  field  where  the  cows 
were,  and  there  was  Moselle,  my  thoroughbred  Guernsey, 
whom  I  had  seen  all  right  a  half  hour  before,  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  her  head  under  her  !  I  flew  through  the  gate 
and  to  her,  to  find  that  the  horns  were  fastened  in  the  ground, 
her  forelegs  bent  over  her  head.  The  rope  round  her  hind 
leg  had  evidently  caught  when  she  went  to  lie  down  or  get 
up,  I  don't  know  which. 

I  called  aloud  for  Gibbie,  Bonaparte,  Goliah,  but  no  one 
came.  Moselle's  breathing  was  like  a  very  loud  snore.  I 
tugged  at  her  forefoot  to  lift  it  off  from  her  head,  putting 
all  my  strength,  but  in  vain ;  when  exhausted  by  the  great 
effort,  I  called  again  and  again,  then  getting  no  answer  re- 
turned to  the  tugging. 

At  last  I  succeeded  by  a  mighty  effort,  then  another  mighty 
effort,  and  I  got  her  horns  out  of  the  earth  and  put  her  head 
in  a  natural  position,  when  she  lay  as  if  dead.  The  terrible 
sound  in  her  breathing  had  ceased,  but  she  plainly  said  she 


210 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


was  dying.  I  loosed  the  rope  from  her  foot  and  from  her 
head  and  encouraged  her  to  get  up,  but  she  lay  with  closed 
eyes,  and  I  left  her,  for  I  know  how  easily  cows  give  up  and 
die. 

I  went  up  to  the  house,  where  Goliah  was  putting  Ruth 
in  the  buckboard,  for  it  was  sunset.  Then  Gibbie  appeared 
and  I  told  him  Moselle  was  dying  and  reproached  him  for 
being  away  from  his  post  of  duty.  When  I  drove  out  after 
all  this  expenditure  of  feeling  Moselle  was 
quietly  eating  as  though  nothing  unusual  had 
befallen  her.  I  felt  like  Mother  Hubbard 
after  her  trip  to  the  undertaker's.  Alto- 
gether it  was  a  trying  afternoon  and 

J"':        I  am  very  tired. 

September  7. 

Had  some  important  writing  to 

do  this  morning,  but  before  I  could 

begin  Patty  came  in  to  say  two 

"ladies"  wanted   to   see   me.     I 

went  out  to   find   Totem's  two 

daughters,   who   wished  to  get 

me  to  protect  their  property  for 

:i      them. 

F  They  said  their  father's ' '  step- 
wife"  had  advertised  the  horse 
and  buggy  and  cow  and  calf  for 
sale,  all  of  which  things  had  be- 
longed to  their  own  mother  and 
the  "stepwife"  had  no  right  to  sell  them.  I  spent  the  whole 
morning  talking  to  them  and  writing  for  them  to  the  Probate 
Judge  and  others. 

Totem  was  a  faithful  servant  and  their  mother  an  excellent 
woman,  and  I  shall  do  all  in  my  power  to  have  their  property 
protected.     At  the  same  time  I  tried  to  make  them  under- 


Patty    came 
in. 


*.  ft  ttu^r  SmVtli. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  211 

stand  that  the  "step wife,"  having  been  legally  married  to 
their  father,  however  short  a  time  before  his  death,  had  a 
right  to  a  proportion  of  his  property. 

As  soon  as  they  were  gone  I  went  to  the  plantation,  where 
terrible  havoc  has  been  made  in  the  corn  by  three  hogs  be- 
longing to  negroes  who  live  miles  away  in  the  woods.  It  is 
a  most  difficult  thing  to  get  any  redress  for  this.  Bonaparte 
asked  me  to  walk  through  the  corn-field  to  estimate  the  dam- 
age, and  really  I  think  one-third  of  the  corn  has  gone. 

I  cannot  believe  it  is  altogether  the  work  of  animals.  I 
think  they  have  been  assisted  by  humans,  for  while  great 
quantities  of  corn  stalks  are  bent  down  and  you  can  see 
where  the  corn  has  been  eaten  on  the  ground,  in  many,  many 
cases  the  stalks  are  standing  straight  up  and  the  ears  are 
gone.  However,  I  say  nothing  about  that,  as  it  would  be 
useless. 

One  of  the  hogs  I  hired  a  man  with  a  dog  to  catch  two  weeks 
ago.  It  weighs  over  200  pounds  and  the  man  charged  $2 
for  catching  it.  I  have  fed  it  in  the  pen  for  seventeen  days. 
Now  the  owner,  a  very  well-to-do  darky  who  has  a  pension 
from  the  Government  and  is  above  work,  says  he  cannot 
possibly  pay  $7,  which  is  the  amount  I  fixed  upon,  though 
the  damage  is  much  greater  than  that,  indeed,  four  times 
that. 

There  are  still  two  smaller  hogs  of  about  100  pounds  each 
in  the  field. 

I  have  a  strong  wire  fence  around  and  I  cannot  help  think- 
ing the  hogs  have  been  let  in  at  the  gate.  Of  course  a  man 
would  have  them  shot,  but  I  cannot  do  that. 

The  milk  is  falling  off,  and  to  keep  up  my  butter  engage- 
ments I  will  have  to  stop  sending  the  pint  of  milk  daily  to 
Eva  which  I  have  been  sending  for  six  weeks.  She  is  Gib- 
bie's  mother,  and  when  the  doctor  said  she  should  have  fresh 
milk  I  gladly  gave  it,  but  she  is  up  and  about  now,  and  if  Gib- 


212  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

bie  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  take  the  milk  from  the  cows 
because  he  is  in  such  haste  to  go  out  hunting,  his  mother  will 
have  to  suffer  along  with  me. 

Bonaparte  and  Kilpatrick  are  working  on  the  flat  which 
needed  overhauling  and  repair.  It  is  a  heavy  expense,  but 
as  the  rice  is  doing  well  there  must  be  a  dry,  tight  flat  to 

bring  it  in. 

September  10. 

Very  hot  again.  This  morning  I  was  working  at  a  sere- 
nade of  Rachmaninoff's  when  I  fainted.  Good  Chloe  got  me 
on  the  lounge  and  dosed  me  with  ammonia  and  I  got  over 
it,  but  could  neither  write  nor  read  without  a  return  of  the 
terrible  feeling.  So  I  had  the  room  darkened  and  kept  quiet 
until  4 :  30  when  I  had  to  go  to  the  plantation. 

September  13. 

Miss  Penelope  sent  me  word  she  was  unequal  to  going  to 
church  to-day.  So  I  had  to  play  the  organ  as  well  as  sing. 
Though  a  little  rickety  still,  I  enjoyed  the  organ  in  its  rejuve- 
nated condition.  It  is  very  sweet  and  full.  A  beautiful 
sermon.  Thanked  the  good  Father  for  his  many  mercies. 
The  Sunday-school  children  came  promptly  at  five  and  were 
most  interesting. 

September  14. 

Making  wine  from  the  scuppernong  grapes ;  ten  quarts 
of  grapes  made  two  and  a  half  gallons  of  wine.  It  is  a  very 
simple  process,  and  yet  the  wine  is  very  nice.  It  would  make 
most  delicious  champagne  if  we  had  strong  enough  bottles 
to  put  it  in  at  the  right  stage,  but  it  bursts  ordinary  bottles, 
so  we  leave  it  uncorked  until  that  stage  passes. 

I  make  it  because  I  find  a  portion  of  wine  is  a  most  accept- 
able present  to  the  men  of  the  family  at  Christmas  time  — 
only  it  must  not  be  too  sweet.  The  scuppernong  grape  grows 
so  rapidly  and  vigorously  in  this  soil  and  climate  that  it 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  213 

would  be  worth  while  to  plant  it  largely  for  transportation 
to  places  where  wine  is  made.  In  this  State  it  is  under  the 
ban,  but  there  is  no  law  to  prevent  sending  out  the  grapes. 

Every  negro  cottage  through  the  long  line  of  villages 
which  fill  the  pine  woods  has  at  least  one  scuppernong  vine, 
from  which  they  sell  bushels  of  grapes,  besides  eating  them 
for  a  month.  One  vine  will  cover  several  hundred  feet  of 
space,  for  they  are  never  trimmed,  but  grow  laterally  on 
scaffoldings  made  about  five  feet  and  a  half  from  the  ground. 

They  do  not  grow  in  bunches  like  other  grapes,  but  only 
four  or  five  very  large  grapes  together,  so  that  when  you 
go  under  an  arbor  of  ripe  grapes  you  see  no  leaves  above  you, 
only  a  canopy  of  grapes,  the  leaves  being  all  on  top,  and  there 
is  no  more  delicious  experience  than  a  half  hour  under  a  really 
old  grape-vine  in  early  September. 

The  older  the  vine  the  more  luscious  the  grapes,  and  the 
perfume  is  most  exquisite.  It  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina, 
but  takes  kindly  to  this  State  and  requires  no  spraying  or 
care  of  any  kind  beyond  breaking  away  the  dead  twigs  and 
branches   during  the  winter  season  —  and  mulching  with 

dead  leaves. 

September  15. 

Had  a  present  of  a  bushel  of  grapes  from  Old  Tom's  chil- 
dren —  such  a  pleasant  surprise  !  The  grapes  from  my  ar- 
bor are  so  enjoyed  by  the  whole  plantation  that  I  never  get 
more  than  a  peck  at  a  time,  so  that  it  is  a  great  thing  to  have 
such  a  handsome  present.  Presented  the  bringer  with  a 
dress  for  herself  and  shirt  and  cravat  for  the  brother.  That 
is  what  a  present  means  with  us  —  good  will  expressed,  and 

a  handsome  return. 

Peaceville,  September  16. 

This  morning  had  a  delightful  present  of  venison.  S.  M. 
killed  a  deer  yesterday. 

Sent  Chloe,  Patty,  and  Goliah  to  plantation  to  pick  the 


214  A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 

last  of  the  grapes,  and  I  tried  to  refresh  myself  by  reading 
"Peter."  Yesterday  when  I  drove  down  Ruth  behaved  in 
the  most  unaccountable  way.  I  had  S.  R.  with  me  and  we 
were  driving  up  the  avenue  to  the  barn-yard,  which  is  called 
the  Red  Bank  — I  do  not  know  why,  as  it  is  not  a  bank  nor  is 
it  red,  just  an  avenue  bordered  by  live  oak  trees  with  the 
fields  of  corn,  peas,  potatoes,  etc.,  beyond.  The  growth  is 
very  luxuriant  and  thick  on  each  side  under  the  trees. 

About  halfway  from  the  gate  Ruth  suddenly  shied  vio- 
lently, shivered  and  shook,  and  though  the  road  is  quite  too 
narrow  to  turn  she  backed  violently  right  into  the  ditch, 
and  before  I  understood  what  she  was  doing  she  had  turned 
the  buckboard  around  most  cleverly  and  was  rapidly  on 
her  way  back  to  the  gate  with  every  sign  of  terror.  As  soon 
as  I  realized  what  had  happened  I  drove  into  the  field  on  one 
side  of  the  road,  turned  and  drove  back  up  the  avenue  to- 
ward the  barn-yard,  the  road  she  has  travelled  all  summer 
every  day  but  Sunday  without  showing  the  least  fear  of 
anything. 

I  made  Goliah  walk  ahead  until  we  got  near  the  spot  which 
had  so  terrified  her.  When  I  saw  the  fit  of  terror  returning  I 
gave  the  reins  to  S.  who  fortunately  was  with  me  and  is  a 
very  good  whip,  and  I  got  out  and  led  Ruth  by  with  the 
greatest  difficulty.  I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it  unless 
there  was  some  one  hidden  in  the  ditch  who  was  very  obnox- 
ious to  her. 

The  only  time  I  ever  knew  her  to  shy  so  violently  before 
was  once  when  I  was  driving  down  to  Casa  Bianca  alone. 
In  a  perfectly  open,  clear  road,  with  a  deep  ditch  on  each 
side,  no  bushes  or  underbrush  at  all,  she  was  trotting  along 
briskly  when  suddenly  she  made  a  terrific  shy  to  the  right 
and  bolted.  In  a  few  yards  I  pulled  her  down,  and  won- 
dering greatly  at  her  conduct  I  looked  back  to  see  if  there 
were  any  stumps  which  I  had  not  noticed,  and  out  of  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  215 

ditch  on  the  left  side  of  the  road  rose  a  most  fearful  looking 
head,  a  white  man's,  all  overgrown  with  hair,  hatless,  dishev- 
elled —  no  doubt  a  fugitive  from  justice  who  had  wandered 
the  roads  a  long  time,  from  his  aspect. 

Needless  to  say  I  did  not  tarry  to  ask  questions,  but  let 
Ruth  travel  at  her  very  best  speed,  and  that  evening  return- 
ing home  I  drove  as  fast  as  I  could,  whip  in  hand,  but  had 
no  further  trouble  with  Ruth. 

On  this  occasion  surely  if  there  had  been  any  one  hidden 
in  the  ditch  Don,  the  setter,  would  have  found  him. 

Coming  home  she  still  seemed  nervous.  Goliah  says 
"plat  eye"  and  Chloe  says  "speret,  Miss  Pashuns.  You 
know  Cherokee  is  a  ha'nt  place,  dat  Red  Bank  road  speshul, 
en  wen  yu  cum  to  de  Praise  House  lane  dat  dem  home. 

"T'ree  time  dem  'tack  me  dere.  One  time  I  bin  a  cum 
f'um  Nannie  weddin'.  I  see  a  man  walk  right  befo'  me,  en 
I  call  to  um  en  say  '  Elihu  !  Dat  be  yu  ?  Wait  f 'r  me,'  en  de 
man  neber  answer,  en  w'en  'e  git  to  de  gate  'e  neber  open 
um,  'e  jes'  pass  trou'  wi'dout  open,  en  den  'e  tu'n  'eself  unto 
a  bull,  en  rare  up  befo'  me.  Den  I  kno'  'twas  plat  eye,  en 
I  say  to  meself  '  Trow  down  yu  fader  h'art,  en  tek  up  yu  mur- 
rer  h'art,'  'en  I  dun  so.  'Kase  yu  kno',  Miss  Pashuns,  yu' 
murrer  h'art  is  always  stronger  dan  yu  fader  h'art. 

"Oh,  yu  didn't  kno'  dat?  'Oman  h'art  is  stronger  dan 
man  h'art  w'en  yu  cum  to  speret  en  plat  eye.  Yes,  Rut' 
see  dat  same  man  en  I  jes'  t'enk  de  Lawd  she  ain'  cripple 

yu." 

That  night  she  returned  to  the  subject  and  told  many 
wonderful  ghost  stories,  all  of  that  same  road,  and  said  Gibbie 
was  so  afraid  of  going  along  there  in  the  dusk  and  reminded 
me  that  he  never  would  wait  to  take  my  horse  when  I  was 
out  late,  and  that  was  the  reason.  As  I  still  pooh-poohed 
her  stories  she  put  on  quite  a  superior  air  and  said  :  — 

"Critter  kin  see  mo'  dan  me,  Miss  Pashuns,  en  I  kin  see 


216 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


3Ei«1KH*5*i  ■■s-.ifA. 


"Plat  eye! 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  217 

mo'  dan  yu,  fer  all  yu  kno'  so  mutch  mo'  en  me.     Wat  I  tell 
yu,  'tain't  wha'  I  hear,  but  wha'  I  see  meself." 

There  is  no  doubt  something  in  what  Chloe  says  about 
creatures,  as  she  calls  animals,  seeing  more  than  human 
beings.  There  is  a  spot  on  the  road  about  a  mile  from 
Casa  Bianca  where  a  man  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse, 
which  shied  violently,  throwing  him  against  a  tree.  This 
was  about  sixty-five  years  ago,  and  though  it  is  now  a  com- 
monplace looking  spot  enough,  my  horses  rarely  pass  it  with- 
out shying. 

September  18. 

Yesterday  I  gave  Gibbie  a  severe  talk  because  of  his  total 
neglect  of  his  work  —  the  stables  not  cleaned,  no  pine  straw 
hauled  for  bedding,  the  calves  starved,  yet  the  cows  only 
half  milked.  I  would  not  mind  losing  the  milk  so  much  if 
only  the  calves  got  it,  but  they  look  miserable,  especially 
Heart,  the  little  Guernsey  I  so  wish  to  raise. 

He  is  intoxicated  with  the  rice  bird  and  coot  fever  and 
spends  every  night  out  hunting,  and  of  course  in  the  day  he 
is  too  sleepy  to  do  anything.  He  answered  almost  insolently 
for  the  first  time,  for  usually  he  has  the  grace  of  civility. 

September  22. 

Went  down  after  early  dinner  in  great  haste  to  peas  field 
prepared  to  help  pick  out  cockspurs,  but  found  that  Gertie 
and  two  other  women  had  finished.  I  went  over  it  prepared 
to  find  it  only  one-half  done,  as  usual,  but  to  my  delight 
found  it  thoroughly  done.  They  had  two  large  barrels 
packed  tightly  with  cockspurs,  root  and  all,  the  burrs  being 
still  soft ;  and  look  over  the  field  as  carefully  as  I  could  I  found 
not  a  single  plant.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  praising  them 
warmly.  It  was  Gertie's  doing,  I  know,  as  Bonaparte  put 
her  in  charge. 

Chloe  returned  to  the  subject  of  "sperets"  to-night  and 


218  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

would  insist  on  going  back  to  all  the  strange  things  that  have 
happened  in  her  experience.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Chloe 
would  develop  into  a  most  successful  medium  if  she  was 
in  the  way  of  knowing  anything  about  the  present  craze  for 
spirit  manifestation. 

She  called  to  my  remembrance  one  very  strange  circum- 
stance that  took  place  the  first  year  I  was  alone  at  Cherokee 
after  my  dear  mother's  death.  It  had  been  the  habit  of  our 
household  to  have  family  prayers,  and  when  I  was  left  alone 
I  determined  to  continue  the  evening  prayers  and  for  that 
purpose  had  Chloe  come  in  at  10  o'clock. 

It  was  curious  how  reluctant  she  was  to  have  me  act  as 
home  chaplain.  She  evidently  did  not  consider  me  equal 
to  the  situation.  However,  I  made  a  point  of  it  and  she 
graciously  came. 

After  prayers  were  ended  she  would  stand  at  the  door  look- 
ing very  dignified  in  her  white  head  handkerchief  and  white 
apron  and  talk  over  the  events  of  the  day,  the  condition  of 
the  poultry  yard  and  the  evil  deeds  of  the  generality  of  man- 
kind. This  little  chance  to  tell  her  trials  and  tribulations 
was  greatly  enjoyed  by  her,  and  I  tried  not  to  be  impatient 
at  the  wealth  of  detail,  and  impossibility  of  getting  back  to 
my  book,  for  I  knew  that  alone  made  her  consent  to  come 
in  to  the  little  service  which  meant  so  much  to  me  as  a  sur- 
vival of  the  past. 

One  particular  evening  when  she  was  in  full  swing  I  was 
sitting  in  one  arm-chair  by  the  fire,  the  other  being  empty, 
and  on  the  rug  stretched  off  in  front  of  the  fire  asleep  lay  a 
very  handsome  Skye  terrior  which  had  been  recently  given 
to  me  as  a  protection,  my  dear  little  old  black  and  tan  Zero 
having  died  that  summer.  Suddenly  Blue  Boy  woke,  rose, 
every  hair  on  end.  He  growled,  he  sniffed,  he  snorted,  and 
then  made  a  dash  at  the  empty  chair,  barking  furiously. 

I  tried  to  pacify  him,  called  him  to  me,  patted  and  petted 


A     WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  219 

him,  all  in  vain.  He  got  under  my  chair,  but  he  continued 
to  bark  fiercely.  Finally  I  was  annoyed  by  it  and  got  up 
and  sat  in  the  empty  chair.  It  meant  nothing  to  me  but 
that  Blue  Boy  had  had  a  bad  dream. 

I  went  on  talking  to  Chloe  and  as  Blue  Boy  quieted  down 
and  went  back  to  sleep -on  the  rug  I  got  up  and  in  my  im- 
patience at  the  prolonged  talk  began  to  walk  about  the  room, 
I  was  so  anxious  to  get  back  to  my  interesting  book.  In 
a  second  I  heard  a  growl  and  Blue  Boy  was  on  the  rampage 
again,  more  furiously  than  the  first  time.  He  attacked  the 
empty  chair,  making  a  dash  to  within  a  foot  of  it  and  then 
running  away,  only  to  renew  the  attack. 

I  was  quite  provoked  and  was  going  to  slap  him  when  I 
looked  at  Chloe.  She  was  white  almost,  with  a  look  of 
terror. 

"Miss  Pashuns,  'tis  Ole  Miss'  Blue  Boy  see." 

"What  nonsense,  Chloe  !  You  know  that  is  impossible, 
and  even  if  it  were  possible,  why  should  Blue  Boy  bark  at 
mamma?     You  know  all  the  dogs  were  devoted  to  her." 

Chloe  answered:  "Miss  Pashuns,  you  fergit,  you  git 
Blue  Boy  since  Ole  Miss'  gone ;  him  'oodn't  kno'  Ole  Miss'." 

It  ended  by  my  taking  the  dog  up  and  carrying  him  out  of 
the  house.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  always  slept  in  my  room  at 
night  as  Zero  used  to  do,  but  when  I  was  ready  to  go  upstairs 
that  evening  and  called  him  he  would  not  come  inside  the 
door.  He  wagged  his  tail  quietly  and  licked  my  hands  but 
refused  to  come  in,  and  from  that  time  I  never  could  induce 
him  to  stay  in  my  room  either  night  or  day.  He  would 
lie  on  the  rug  until  I  was  ready  to  go  upstairs,  but  then  he 
went  to  the  front  door  and  insisted  on  remaining  on  the 
piazza  for  the  night. 

After  putting  Blue  Boy  out  I  returned  to  try  to  reassure 
Chloe,  who  was  greatly  agitated.  I  told  her  that  if  the  Good 
Father,  in  whose  hands  I  felt  so  safe,  should  see  fit  to  let 


220  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

those  whom  I  so  dearly  loved  in  the  flesh,  return  in  the  spirit 
to  watch  over  me  in  my  lonely  life,  it  would  make  me  very 
happy,  and  that  I  could  not  understand  it  being  a  cause  of 
terror  to  any  one. 

"But,"  I  said,  "I  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  decide  whether 
that  is  possible  as  our  world  is  constituted.  I  only  have  a 
firm  abiding  faith  in  the  mercy  and  love  of  God  and  in  His 
determination  and  ability  to  keep  all  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  Him  and  walk  in  His  commandments." 

Then  I  went  to  the  piano  and  had  her  sing  with  me  that 
beautiful  old  hymn,  "How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of 
the  Lord." 


CHAPTER   VII 

Peaceville,  September  18. 

WENT  out  to  the  mission  in  the  pine  woods  with  Mr. 
G.    Quite  a  good  congregation.    They  all  walk  miles, 
and  bring  their  babies.     Saw  a  most  forlorn  speci- 
men of  a  man,  sallow,  emaciated,  miserably  clad,  with  three 
children  wrapped  in  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  garments. 
Mr.  G.  turned  to  me  and  said  :  — 

"You  know  Mr.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Pennington?" 

Before  I  could  answer  the  poor  gaberlunzie  spoke  up  and 
said  :  "Oh,  yes ;  she  stood  for  these,"  waving  his  hand  over 
the  thin  little  objects.  "You  'member,  Miss  Patience,  this 
is  Mary  Frances  and  this  is  Easter  Anne  and  this  is  Thomas 
Nelson." 

I  never  felt  more  abashed  in  my  life.  Such  a  party  to  be 
responsible  for !  I  stand  for  so  many,  many  poor  little 
babies,  for  whenever  there  is  a  christening  I  am  in  demand ; 
but  I  never  have  had  such  a  forlorn  little  company  as  this 
on  my  soul. 

As  soon  as  I  recovered  I  asked  how  it  was  that  I  had  not 
seen  them  for  so  long. 

"We've  bin  a-travellin'  !  We  moved  off  for  a  good  many 
years  now,  an'  that's  why  you've  sort  of  lost  us." 

I  asked  where  his  wife  was. 

"Well,  ma'am,  she's  gone ;  got  tired  of  the  job,  an'  lef  me." 

"And  who  cooks?" 

"Mary  Frances  cooks." 

"And  who  washes  the  children's  clothes?" 

221 


222  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"Mary  Frances,  she  washes,  an'  Mary  Frances,  she  mends 
an'  does  everything." 

When  I  looked  at  the  wizen  little  girl,  with  her  sallow  blue 
skin  and  her  skinny  little  arms  and  hands,  I  could  scarcely 
keep  back  the  tears,  but  I  spoke  very  cheerily  to  her  and 
complimented  her  on  the  get-up  of  the  family,  which  truly 
showed  ingenuity. 

She  told  me  she  was  10  and  Easter  Anne  8.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  the  tiny  child  was  10,  but  I  promised  to 
make  some  clothes  for  them  before  the  next  day  the  rector 
came,  which  will  be  Sunday  three  weeks.  She  did  not  seem 
excited  or  even  pleased,  but  answered  "  Yessum"  in  a  listless 
voice  to  all  I  said. 

I  asked  some  of  the  other  people  about  them  and  found 
there  was  great  indignation  about  the  wife.  These  people 
are  severe  on  the  erring;  it  seems  necessary  to  their  self- 
respect. 

September  19. 

Bonaparte  has  been  away  on  a  little  vacation  and  I  have 
been  superintending  all  the  work  personally  for  the  past 
two  weeks,  and  it  is  impossible  to  get  a  decent  day's  work 
done.  The  women  just  scratch  the  ground  a  little  with  their 
hoes  when  your  eyes  are  on  them,  and  as  soon  as  you  allow 
yourself  to  be  diverted  for  a  moment  they  stand  quite  idle. 

September  21. 

Was  telling  Miss  Pandora  about  the  Lewis  children  and 
how  I  was  searching  all  my  possessions  to  find  something  I 
could  cut  up  to  make  into  clothes  for  them.  She  said  at 
once : — 

"I  have  the  stuff  I  got  some  time  ago  for  a  skirt.  I  will 
send  it  to  you  to-morrow." 

I  remonstrated,  telling  her  it  would  not  be  suitable,  as 
they  should  have  stout  stuff  for  clothes ;    but  she  persisted 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  223 

and  sent  it,  three  and  one-half  yards  of  very  pretty  crash. 
I  nearly  sent  it  back  because  it  is  too  thin  and  unsuitable 
and  would  make  such  a  pretty  suit.  However,  after  much 
consideration,  I  determined  to  offer  it  for  sale,  and  if  I  succeed 
in  getting  the  money  for  it,  I  will  spend  it  in  homespun  and 
calico  to  make  up.  This  afternoon  I  took  it  down  the 
village  and  showed  it  to  several  people,  and  I  finally  left  it 
to  be  examined. 

September  22. 

My  little  trading  effort  has  been  most  successful.  This 
morning  I  had  a  note  to  say  that  the  stuff  had  been  bought 
and  sending  me  the  money.  I  at  once  went  down  to  Miss 
Penelope's  and  bought  fifteen  yards  of  stuff,  different  kinds  for 
the  different  ones ;  and  then  set  to  work  to  cut  and  make 
three  little  frocks.  Patterns  seemed  a  difficulty,  but  I 
would  allow  nothing  to  cool  my  ardor.  I  made  my  own 
patterns,  for  these  pine  woods  people  know  nothing  of  fash- 
ion in  children's  garments,  and  I  am  making  them  as  I  used 
to  make  children's  clothes  long  ago. 

The  draperies  Mary  Frances  had  hanging  around  her  were 
down  to  the  ground  and  so  were  Easter  Anne's.  It  will  no 
doubt  be  a  shock  to  have  these  only  reach  their  ankles,  but 
they  will  have  time  to  get  accustomed  to  it  before  cold 
weather  comes.  One  wonders  stupidly  over  things  out  of 
one's  own  beat,  as  it  were,  but  of  course  when  children  do 
not  have  shoes  and  stockings  in  the  cold  weather  trailing 
garments  are  preferred. 

My  neighbor  the  widow  asked  me  to  let  her  do  some  of 
the  machine  stitching  for  me,  which  is  very  nice  of  her,  my 
machine  being  out  of  order  for  the  first  time  in  its  thirty- 
seven  years  of  service.  I  think  Patty  must  have  been  experi- 
menting with  it,  for  it  did  beautiful  work  the  last  time  I  used 
it.  Let  no  one  turn  up  her  nose  at  this  old  friend  and  say, 
"At  least  in  machinery  new  friends  are  best."     We  are  a 


224  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

faithful  hearted  people  down  here  and  see  the  beauty  in  our 
old  friends,  even  though  aware  of  the  pathos  of  increased 
effort. 

September  23. 

This  morning  went  over  by  invitation  to  look  at  the  widow's 
steers  which  she  is  to  sell  to-day  for  a  good  price.  They  are 
very  fine  and  perfectly  gentle.  She  is  a  wonderful  woman, 
doing  all  her  own  work  and  so  much  of  it.  Her  vegetable 
garden  has  not  a  blade  of  grass.  It  contains  turnips,  cab- 
bages, carrots,  beets,  and  tomatoes.  She  milks  her  cow  her- 
self, waters  her  great  number  of  flowers,  drawing  the  water 
from  a  well  with  an  old-time  arrangement ;  keeps  her  large 
rose  garden  in  order  and  has  the  house  filled  with  fresh 
flowers. 

To-night  I  finished  two  of  the  little  frocks,  and  they  look 

very  sweet.     I  could  not  help  stitching  on  a  little  band  of 

contrasting    color.     Children's    clothes    should    be    pretty; 

all  things  connected  with  childhood  should  be  pretty.     The 

little  ones  thrive  on  things  that  feed  the  eye  with  beauty. 

The  Great  Father  teaches  us  that  wherever  we  turn  in  the 

loveliness  spread  around  us  everywhere,  but  we  are  so  slow 

to  learn. 

September  24. 

I  undertook  to  have  Jim  do  some  mowing  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, there  being  difficulty  in  getting  a  mowing  machine 
for  hire.  But  yesterday  when  the  field  was  about  half  cut 
the  blade  broke,  and  now  I  have  to  send  off  eighteen  miles 
to  get  another  and  by  the  time  I  have  done  I  will  be  on  the 
wrong  side  as  far  as  profit  goes. 

Sunday,  September  25. 

Goliah  came  to  me  in  great  distress,  weeping  and  saying 
his  hoop,  which  he  hung  on  the  fence,  was  gone.  I  told  him 
some  of  his  very  rude  companions,  whom  he  occasionally 
brings  into  the  yard,  had  taken  it. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  225 

"No,  no,"  he  said.  Some  one  had  broken  it  up,  and  he 
thought  it  was  Patty.  I  reproved  him  for  supposing  Patty 
would  do  such  a  thing,  but  later  when  he  had  gone  out  of 
the  yard  I  asked  Patty  if  she  had  troubled  the  hoop.  She 
said,  "No."  I  answered,  "I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,  for 
I  would  have  been  very  angry  if  you  had  destroyed  Goliah's 
hoop ;  it  is  an  innocent  amusement  and  keeps  him  out  of 
mischief." 

She  went  out  quietly,  but  I  soon  found  the  yard  was  in 
the  greatest  excitement.  Goliah  returned  and  found  some 
other  cherished  possession  gone,  and  he  sat  on  the  back  step 
and  cried  and  sobbed.  I  tried  a  ,,,«*,/  ^%  s  ~ 
to  quiet  him,  but  in  vain,  and  $m&S£&  'W&  %?#>'% 
then  to  add  to  the  tragic  effect  H'tyffi^'i:  ^:^¥t&fy^  ,- 
his  nose  began  to  bleed  and  his      \  \\  ^d&zk£r, 

clean    white    shirt    had    great    |§r 
splotches  of  blood. 

There  raged  a  tempest  in   a 
tea-pot  this  blessed  day  of  rest. 

I  could  not  stand  it,  and  ordered 

T.        ,  ,    -r,    ,,     .       ,,      ,       ,  Guliah  cried  and  sobbed. 

Jim  to  put  Kuth  in  the  buck- 
board  and  gave  the  whole  yard  a  holiday.     I  told  Chloe  I 
would  not  have  any  dinner,  so  she  could  go  to  visit  her  family, 
I  was  going  out  to  St.  Peter 's-in-the- woods  to  take  the  clothes 
I  had  made  to  the  children. 

So  I  escaped  and  went  to  church,  and  then  had  a  lovely 
drive  through  the  pine  woods,  and  the  joy  of  putting  the 
frocks  on  the  children  and  finding  that  they  fitted  nicely, 
only  I  saw  they  thought  them  too  short,  so  I  said  I  would 
take  them  home  and  make  them  longer. 

The  wandering  mother  had  returned  and  I  had  not  the 
heart  to  look  harshly  at  her ;  the  poor  little  ones  looked  so 
happy  —  not  a  change  of  garment  or  any  other  change,  just 
the  little  gray  faces,  which  had  looked  so  lustreless  and  life- 


226  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

less,  were  full  of  interest  and  animation.  The  poverty  of 
the  surroundings,  the  doorless  hut  with  no  attempt  at  furni- 
ture —  it  was  all  pitiful. 

It  is  very  rare  to  see  such  poverty  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  case  before ;  but  the  man  is  a  semi- 
invalid  and  work  in  the  field  for  the  woman  not  easy  to  get, 
I  suppose. 

I  did  not  remember  what  a  long  way  we  have  to  go  when 
going  home.  I  had  not  started  early,  for  I  went  to  church 
first,  and  then  went  to  ask  a  friend  to  go  with  me.  At  any 
rate  when  we  had  gone  about  half  of  the  nine  miles  home 
the  swift,  soft  darkness  fell.  It  was  a  perfect  evening  and 
we  were  enjoying  the  delicious  cool  of  the  night  air  when  I 
looked  ahead  in  the  very  narrow  road,  a  deep  ditch  on  each 
side,  and  saw  a  steady  bright  light  coming.  I  knew  it  was 
the  one  danger  I  feared. 

Just  then  my  companion  saw  it.  "Patience,"  she  said, 
"that  is  an  automobile;  the  doctor's,  I  know.  There  is  an 
ill  man  out  on  this  road ;  what  shall  we  do  ?  He  cannot 
see  us." 

That  was  perfectly  true ;  we  were  completely  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  his  big  light  did  not  cast  far  enough  to  give  him 
time  to  stop  his  car  when  he  saw  us,  and  the  road  was  too 
narrow  for  two  buggies  to  pass,  without  great  skill  in  driving. 

I  drove  steadily  on,  but  I  felt  dismayed.  There  was,  I 
thought,  not  far  away  a  bridge  of  pine  saplings  across  the 
ditch  on  the  right.  If  we  could  reach  that  before  we  were  too 
near  we  might  escape. 

Meantime  my  companion  said,  "Let  us  call  aloud,  they 
may  hear."  So  she  lifted  up  a  splendid  strong  voice  and 
called,  and  when  she  ceased,  her  voice  exhausted,  I  took  it 
up ;  but  on,  on  came  that  star  of  fate ;  it  had  the  most  curi- 
ous inevitable  look. 

Only  by  its  growing  larger  and  larger  could  we  know  it 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER  227 

was  moving.  Finally  when  A.  said:  "You  must  stop,  you 
cannot  go  on,"  I  knew  she  was  right  and  that  I  must  stop 
without  having  reached  the  little  bridge  which  meant  safety. 

I  stopped.  On,  on  came  the  glare.  Ruth,  like  myself, 
seemed  fascinated  by  it.  We  were  so  powerless,  for  now  we 
could  hear  the  roaring  and  knew  our  voices  were  impotent 
to  reach  the  driver.  There  was  not  fifty  yards  between  us, 
and  on  they  came.  No,  there  is  a  change  in  the  sound. 
They  have  stopped  !  Thank  God  !  Thank  God  !  It  would 
have  been  a  grizzly,  grinding  death. 

The  driver  leaped  out  and  came  to  us,  white  as  a  sheet. 

"Oh,"  he  said,  "just  in  time  !  Miss  A.  saw  your  white 
shirt-waist  and  said,  'Stop :   there  is  something  ahead  !'" 

He  was  just  as  good  as  gold,  and  when  I  said  if  he  moved 
the  auto  to  one  side  a  little  I  would  undertake  to  lead  Ruth 
by,  "No,  no,"  he  said,  "we  must  find  some  other  way,  the 
road  is  too  narrow." 

I  told  him  of  the  little  bridge  and  he  found  it  just  between 
us  and  the  auto,  and  he  insisted  on  leading  Ruth  over  it ; 
turned  out  his  lights  and  glided  past  quietly,  and  then  led 
the  wonderfully  well-behaved  Ruth  back  into  the  road,  and 
with  hearty  handclasps  and  thanks  we  proceeded  on  our 
way.  Very  thankful  hearts  beat  within  us  and  the  mercy 
and  goodness  of  the  Great  Creator  seemed  to  be  shouted  to 
us  from  each  brilliant  star  above. 

September  26. 

Started  the  flat  off  to  Gregory  for  the  fertilizer,  five  tons 
half  lime  and  half  8-1-4.  The  river  winds  so  that  by 
water  it  is  twenty-three  miles  about,  while  by  land  it  is  only 
fourteen.  If  everything  goes  well,  they  should  get  back 
here  by  Thursday.  R.  came  down  to  spend  three  weeks 
with  me,  and  he  is  helping  me  prepare  the  land  for  the  al- 
falfa. It  is  so  delightful  to  have  him.  He  finds  the  nigs 
very  trying.     Yesterday  he  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  fixing 


228  A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 

a  harrow,  which  was  too  light,  by  wiring  on  to  it  securely  a 
long  iron  bar  to  make  it  heavy  enough  to  crush  the  sods. 
Finally  he  got  it  just  the  right  weight  and  started  Elihu  to 
work  with  it,  and  was  delighted  with  the  results.  To-day 
when  he  went  down  to  the  plantation  he  found  Elihu  harrow- 
ing, but  without  the  bar ;  he  had  cut  every  wire  which  had 
been  securely  fastened  and  taken  off  the  bar.  When  R.  asked 
him  why  he  had  done  it,  he  scratched  his  head  and  laughed 
and  answered :  — 
"Jes'  so,  Mass'  Bob." 

September  27. 

The  corn  is  all  gathered  and  has  done  very  well  —  814 
bushels  of  slip-shuck  corn  on  seven  acres.  Gibbie  is  very 
proud ;  he  feels  that  he  and  Paul,  the  single  ox,  have  done 
it  all. 

September  28. 

Went  to  Casa  Bianca  and  walked  around  the  banks.  The 
little  rice  planted  looks  fairly  well.  Nat  seems  to  be  doing 
his  best  in  face  of  much  opposition  and  difficulty.  On  the 
way  back  stopped  at  Cherokee  and  found  that  Elihu  got 
back  with  the  flat  of  fertilizer  at  sunrise  this  morning,  which 
was  doing  splendidly.  It  was  most  fortunate,  for  this  after- 
noon the  storm  signals  are  out  in  Gregory.  Mr.  L.  was 
afraid  to  leave  town  with  his  tug  towing  a  lighter,  so  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  bring  an  open  flat  out. 

October  2. 

The  fertilizer  has  been  distributed  over  the  alfalfa  field 
and  the  whole  field  is  in  fine  order.  Now  the  delay  is  in  the 
nonarrival  of  the  seed.  I  have  sent  to  the  railroad  station 
several  times,  but  they  answer  firmly  that  it  has  not  come. 
It  is  very  provoking,  for  all  the  books  say  it  should  be  planted 
not  later  than  October  1. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  229 

October  6. 
R.  was  obliged  to  leave  to-day,  and  without  helping  me 
plant  the  alfalfa,  as  it  has  not  yet  come.  It  is  too  bad,  for 
it  would  have  been  such  a  comfort  to  get  it  in  while  he  was 
here.  I  asked  him  to  go  to  the  station  very  early  to-morrow 
■ —  the  train  leaves  at  6  a.m.  —  and  ask  permission,  very 
politely,  to  look  through  the  warehouse  himself  for  it ;  he 
seemed  to  think  this  an  unusual  and  unreasonable  request, 
but  I  know  the  ways  of  the  freight  office  in  Gregory  so  well 
that  I  am  sure  the  alfalfa  is  there. 

October  7. 

Elihu  returned  at  one  o'clock,  bringing  the  sack  of  100 
pounds  of  alfalfa  and  a  note  from  R.  He  had  asked  for  it 
and  was  told  it  was  not  there ;  then,  politely,  he  asked  if 
he  might  look  through  the  warehouse ;  permission  was 
granted,  and  almost  the  first  thing  he  stumbled  upon  was 
the  bag.  When  he  told  the  man  in  charge  he  had  found  it 
and  pointed  it  out,  he  looked  at  it  and  said :  "Oh,  that's  it, 
is  it?     That's  been  here  two  weeks." 

I  called  Bonaparte  at  once  and  used  what  was  left  of  the 
culture  R.  had  mixed,  though  I  felt  uncertain  as  to  whether 
it  was  still  good.  It  was  only  enough  to  moisten  a  half 
bushel  which  I  had  well  stirred  and  then  spread  out  on  the 
piazza  to  dry.  Then  I  proceeded  to  put  together  the  stuff 
for  a  second  lot  of  the  inoculating  liquid.  I  had  had  the 
packages  quite  a  while,  and  felt  anxious  about  it.  It  was  in 
proportion  for  ten  gallons,  but  I  only  mixed  five,  putting  in 
half  of  the  package  of  each  instead  of  the  whole.  That  is 
the  worst  of  being  so  remote  from  everything  —  the  difficulty 
of  replacing  things  if  anything  goes  wrong.  Whether  the  tub 
leaked  or  the  culture  evaporated,  I  do  not  know,  but  the  quan- 
tity R.  mixed  should  have  been  enough  for  the  100  pounds, 
but  it  has  vanished  or  rather  "minished,"  to  use  a  very  preg- 
nant negro  word,  and  now  I  have  to  use  these  old  ingredients. 


230  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

October  8. 

Put  in  the  second  ingredient  of  the  culture,  then  got 
Bonaparte  and  two  boys  with  the  seed  drill,  which  I  had 
asked  R.  to  rent  from  a  neighbor,  and  proceeded  to  plant 
the  alfalfa  seed  wet  with  culture  yesterday,  as  it  was  quite 
dry.  The  Imp  and  Manuel  were  charmed  to  run  the  little 
drill  and  fought  over  it,  for  I  would  not  let  either  one  do  more 
than  six  rows. 

A  glorious  sunshine,  thank  the  Good  Father.  I  hope  I 
will  get  the  cotton  picked  to-day  and  a  good  many  peas,  too. 

10  p.m.  A  fine  day's  work.  Took  Patty  and  Goliah 
in  to  pick  peas,  and  they  did  well  and  enjoyed  it.  I  hear 
on  one  has  made  any  peas  this  year,  but  I  have  made  a  great 
quantity,  which  is  a  great  mercy.  Patty,  Goliah,  and  I 
picked  peas  along  with  the  other  hands. 

Lizette  was  there  with  her  little  baby,  the  first  time  she 
has  had  it  in  the  field.  It  is  tiny  and  sits  up  very  straight 
and  looks  like  a  little  black  doll.  Her  little  son  Isaiah  sits 
and  holds  the  baby  all  day.  I  constantly  intervened  and 
had  its  little  head  kept  from  rolling  off,  as  it  seemed  likely 
to  me  to  do  when  it  was  asleep. 

I  told  Lizette  about  the  children  in  the  East  Side  Settlement 
House,  each  baby  so  comfortable  in  its  basket,  with  no  danger 
to  its  little  delicate  spine.  Then  as  that  did  not  seem  to 
attract  her  I  told  her  of  the  Indian  babies  safely  bound  to  a 
straight  board  and  hung  in  the  trees.  That  desperate 
cruelty,  as  it  seemed  to  her,  roused  her  to  speech,  which  it  is 
difficult  to  do.  With  great  indignation  she  told  me  there 
was  no  need  for  her  to  be  so  cruel  to  her  baby  as  she  had  a 
boy  to  mind  it.  The  boy  may  be  four,  but  I  do  not  think 
he  is  quite  that.  I  am  going  to  make  a  nice  little  box,  with  a 
handle  and  a  little  pad  in  it  for  a  mattress,  to  carry  the  baby 
in. 

I  enjoyed  every  moment  of  this  beautiful  day  drinking  in 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  231 

God's    glorious    handiwork    of    air    and    sky  —  everywhere 
masses  of  goldenrod  and  banks  of  feathery  white  fennel. 

October  10. 

This  morning  Miss  Pandora  brought  me  a  present  of  a 
dozen  splendid  apples  !  I  was  greatly  touched  by  it  —  such 
a  great  present  here,  where  we  see  no  fruit  but  pears.  It  was 
Miss  Melpomene's  birthday  and  I  was  busy  fixing  up  a 
little  offering  for  her,  a  summer  duck  nicely  roasted  (for 
Chloe's  cooking  a  cluck  doubles  its  value)  surrounded  by 
tomatoes  from  my  pot  plant,  which  are  supposed  to  be  very 
superior  in  flavor.  I  sent  a  note  asking  Miss  Melpomene 
to  go  with  me  to  Cherokee  this  afternoon  prepared  to  pick 
peas. 

She  seemed  startled  but  accepted  with  pleasure,  and  when 
I  explained  that  she  was  to  keep  all  she  picked  she  was 
charmed,  as  hers  have  failed  entirely.  I  drove  to  the  field 
and  left  her  there,  having  lent  her  my  pea  picking  apron. 
It  is  made  of  light  blue  denim,  quite  long  and  turned  up  like 
a  sewing  apron  only  much  larger,  for  it  can  hold  nearly  a 
bushel  of  peas. 

I  drove  to  the  barn-yard  to  leave  the  horse  and  buckboard 
and  return  to  help  her  pick,  but  I  found  ten  hands  waiting 
with  huge  bundles  of  peas.  Bonaparte  said  with  great  im- 
patience, "Dem  do'  want  no  money,  dem  want  peas,"  so  I 
said  at  once,  "I  don't  blame  them,  let  them  have  the  peas." 

But  I  had  to  stop  and  make  the  necessary  calculations  for 
each  to  get  one-third  of  what  she  had  picked.  It  was  quite 
a  business,  for  in  all  they  had  picked  1197  pounds  of  peas, 
some  picking  150  pounds,  others  only  fifty.  They  are  sell- 
ing for  10  cents  a  quart  now,  so  naturally  the  pickers  prefer 
taking  a  portion  of  the  peas  to  money. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  I  got  through  and  went  back  to 
Miss  Melpomene,  who  thought  something  must  have  hap- 


232 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


pened  and  seemed  to  think  she  had  picked  quite  too  many- 
peas  and  was  eager  to  make  me  take  some.  It  was  an  orig- 
inal birthday  party,  but  we  both  enjoyed  it  greatly,  and  the 
drive  home  was  delightful,  and  we  were  very  gay. 

October  11. 

Had  Eva  to  sow  by  hand  the  little  of  the  inoculated  seed 
left  yesterday.     Assisted  by  Bonaparte  I  mixed  the  rest  of 

the  seed — one  and  three-quarter 
bushels — with  the  liquid  culture 
and  then  spread  the  wet  seed  out 
in  the  piazza  to  dry.  The  stuff 
smelled  very  yeasty  and  queer. 
I  do  hope  it  is  all  right.  As  I 
had  much  more  liquid  than  I 
needed,  I  mixed  it  with  earth  so 
that  I  may  use  it  in  future. 

Yesterday,  with  a  storm  com- 
ing up,  I  was  unable  to  get  any 
one  to  haul  in  my  beautiful  pea- 
vine  hay.  A  month  ago  Gibbie 
had  asked  permission  to  be  ab- 
sent to-day  and  I  promised  him 
he  should  go.  I  sent  word  to 
Elihu  and  George  to  come  and 
handle  the  hay,  but  there  was  a  funeral,  and  not  a  single  man 
could  I  get. 

October  12. 

Drove  down  early  to  Cherokee,  and  finding  the  seed  dry 
drove  rapidly  to  Mr.  L.'s  place  to  get  the  drill,  but  instead 
of  using  it  yesterday  they  were  sowing  rape  to-day,  so  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  return  quickly,  send  for  all  the  women 
I  could  get,  and  sow  it  out  by  hand.  The  sowing  was  easy 
enough,  though  slow,  for  the  women  are  accustomed  to  sow 


Had   Eva  to  sow   by   hand  a 
little  of  the  inoculated  seed. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  233 

rice  by  hand,  but  the  covering  was  the  difficulty.  I  had 
eight  hands  all  the  time  and  then  when  the  hands  who  were 
picking  peas  knocked  off  I  called  them  in  to  help.  The  moon 
was  high  in  the  eastern  sky  when  the  last  row  was  sowed, 
and  then  we  had  to  stop,  though  about  one  and  a  half  acres 
were  not  covered.  It  had  been  a  great  rush,  and  the  hands 
all  worked  well  and  I  paid  them  extra,  for  though  they  had 
not  started  till  late,  as  I  had  counted  on  getting  the  drill, 
they  had  worked  steadily.  I  was  completely  exhausted 
when  I  got  home. 

October  13. 

When  I  got  to  the  plantation  this  morning  I  found  Bona- 
parte had  five  hands  covering  the  one  and  a  half  acres  left 
uncovered  last  night,  and  they  took  the  whole  day,  and  it 
was  abominably  done.  He  was  in  a  very  bad  humor  and 
would  not  follow  my  directions,  and  give  each  hand  ten  rows 
for  him  individually  to  do,  so  that  one  could  see  who  was 
doing  good  work  and  who  not ;  but  insisted  on  laying  off 
with  stakes  a  section  for  each  one,  saying  the  rows  were 
too  long,  and  he  must  keep  them  together  and  watch  them. 
"Dem's  too  striffling  for  tek  dem  long  row.  I  'bleege  to 
keep  dem  close  togeder,  so  I  kin  watch  dem.  Dem's  striffling 
no  'count,  good  f'r  nutting,"  etc.,  acl  lib.  I  simply  had  to 
leave  the  field  or  have  a  tremendous  flare  up,  so  while  I 
could  control  myself  I  left ;  but  it  was  very  trying,  for  this 
is  the  richest  part  of  the  field,  and  he  had  got  the  hands  in 
such  a  bad  humor  that  they  were  positively  digging  the  seed 
out  of  the  ground  instead  of  covering  it.  For  a  few  seconds 
I  was  on  the  point  of  ordering  him  out  of  the  field,  but  that 
meant  destroying  his  prestige  and  authority  for  all  time,  and 
he  has  all  the  barn  keys,  and  I  believe  is  faithful  to  the  trust ; 
he  is  just  mulishly  cantankerous  sometimes. 

I  found  Gibbie  diligently  running  the  mowing  machine 
cutting  down  the  second  pea-field,  while  the  hay  which  was 


234  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

cut  down  Monday  and  Tuesday  and  had  two  solid  nights 
rain  on  the  piles  was  dry  on  top  and  steaming  wet  underneath. 
I  stopped  the  mowing  and  led  Gibbie  from  cock  to  cock  and 
made  him  toss  and  turn  the  pea-vine  hay  while  I  sent  George 
to  do  the  same  to  the  broom-grass  hay.  No  one  seems  to 
have  any  sense.  I  told  them  to  keep  turning  it  as  it  dried 
and  then  to  begin  hauling  into  the  barn  and  to  try  to  finish 
getting  it  in  to-morrow.  I  shall  not  be  able  to  come  down 
to-morrow,  as  I  have  to  send  for  and  entertain  our  rector. 

Sunday,  October  15. 

The  blessed  day  of  rest  is  most  welcome.  It  being  the 
third  Sunday  in  the  month,  we  had  our  rector.  His  sermon, 
an  excellent  one,  on  the  text  "For  every  idle  word,"  etc., 
struck  the  little  congregation  with  dismay.  As  I  came  out 
of  church  some  one  said  to  me :  "Do  you  think  Mr.  C.  has 
been  hearing  anything  about  us  that  made  him  preach  that 
sermon?"  "No,  no,"  I  answered,  "I  think  not,  but  I  feel 
that  it  was  specially  inspired  for  my  benefit."  "No,  indeed, 
Mrs.  Pennington,"  another  put  in,  "not  for  you,  but  for 
me."  And  so  there  was  a  group  of  self-convicted  sinners, 
whose  sins  of  the  tongue  had  been  brought  home  to  them. 
As  the  rector  went  into  my  sitting  room  he  laid  the  fiery 
roll  on  the  table,  and  when  he  left  the  room  I  took  it  up  to 
get  the  chapter  and  verse  of  the  text,  so  as  to  look  it  up,  and 
on  the  cover  I  saw  written  "First  preached,  August,  1888." 

That  afternoon  a  lady  came  to  see  me  with  a  solemn, 
pained  aspect,  and  after  the  usual  inevitable  complimentary 
prelude  cleared  her  throat  and  began.  "It  is  with  much 
sorrow,  Mrs.  Pennington,  that  I  state  from  indisputable 
authority  that  during  his  last  monthly  visitation  our  revered 
rector  heard  from  a  lady,  who  shall  be  nameless,  things 
concerning  some  of  our  most  respected  families  which  in- 
duced him  to  give  us  the  extraordinarily  clever  and  appro- 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  235 

priate  discourse  to  which  we  listened  this  morning."  It 
was  very  hard  for  me  to  wait  politely  for  the  end  of  this 
well  turned  sentence,  and  as  soon  as  I  decently  could  I  an- 
swered with  delight :  "I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  tell  you, 
my  dear  Miss  Arethusa,  that  you  are  entirely  mistaken. 
That  sermon  was  written  and  preached  first  in  1888  !  It 
only  shows  that  human  nature  is  much  the  same  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places,  for  you  are  not  the  only  one  who  thought 
its  application  personal." 

The  hymn  singing  to-night  was  specially  hearty  and  Mr.  C. 
seemed  greatly  to  enjoy  listening;  which  is  rare,  the  measure 
of  enjoyment  being  generally  in  proportion  to  the  vigor  of 

one's  individual  efforts. 

October  16. 

Yesterday  I  had  planned  to  go  over  with  Mr.  C.  This 
morning  he  asked  me  to  go  and  promised  to  drive  me  down 
to  see  Mrs.  S.,  who  is  86,  and  I  have  been  suddenly  seized 
with  a  great  desire  to  visit  her.  I  have  never  seen  her  since 
my  father  took  me  as  a  child  to  visit  her.  She  has  lived  alone 
on  her  plantation  for  many  years,  as  I  do,  and  though  it  is 
only  about  twenty  miles  away  the  getting  there,  crossing 
two  rivers  and  then  a  long  drive,  is  intricate.  Last  night  it 
seemed  easy  to  cross  the  rivers  with  Mr.  C,  spend  the 
night  with  Mrs.  C.  and  himself  at  the  All  Saints'  rectory  and 
go  on  the  next  morning,  returning  here  Wednesday  evening, 
but  this  morning  I  am  discouraged  and  cannot  go.  I  found 
Mr.  C.  unprovided  with  the  medicines  we  think  necessary 
to  have  on  hand  in  the  country,  as  he  is  a  new-comer,  so  I 
put  up  phials  of  quinine,  calomel,  and  soda  and  it  took  some 
time. 

Sunday,  October  20. 

No  service  in  the  little  church  to-day.  Sent  to  ask  A.  if 
she  would  dine  with  me  and  drive  out  in  the  woods  with  me 
afterward.     I  called  Chloe  and  Patty  and  Goliah  in  and  read 


236 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


the  morning  prayer  and  the  beautiful  hymns  for  the  twenty- 
first  Sunday  after  Trinity.  I  played  and  had  them  sing  the 
chants  and  we  had  a  pleasant  little  service.  I  always  like 
to  have  a  scriptural  quorum. 

I  hope  the  Good  Father  did  not  mind  my  sewing  a  little 
on  Mary  Frances'  frock  after  I  had  read  the  prayers.  I  was 
careful  to  do  it  in  private  for  fear  of  offending  a  weaker 
brother. 

We  started  out  in  the  buckboard  at  three,  taking  the  three 
little  frocks  for  the  children  and  a  nice  dark  calico  shirt-waist 
suit  for  the  poor  mother.  The  drive  was  charming.  Stopped 
to  see  Louise  M.,  who  is  so  faithful  in  trying  to  carry  on  the 
Sunday-school.  Her  little  log  cottage  was  as  clean  as  pos- 
sible and  she  showed 
with  great  pride  their 
potatoes  just  dug ;  she 
and  her  husband  in- 
sisted on  giving  us 
some ;  they  were  very 
large,  some  of  them 
weighing  two  pounds. 
Went  on  to  the 
Lewis's ;  found  them 
very  cheerful  and  just 
eating  their  midday 
meal.  I  went  into  the  hut  and  so  saw  what  it  was,  a  very 
large  spider  full  of  hominy.  That  seemed  the  only  thing, 
but  they  were  perfectly  content,  their  hunger  being  appeased 
by  the  abundance  and  heat  of  the  meal,  for  it  was  steaming, 
not  cooled  unnecessarily  as  our  food  is  by  being  transferred 
from  one  receptacle  to  another.  The  spider  had  the  place 
of  honor  in  the  middle  of  the  table.  Each  one  was  helped  to 
a  pan  of  hominy  from  it,  and  then  retired  out  of  doors  to  eat  it. 
They  were  all  delighted  with  their  frocks.     I  had  col- 


Her  little  log  cottage  was  as  clean 
as  possible. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  237 

lected  some  few  men's  garments  for  the  gaberlunzie  who 
owns  the  flock.  But  when  I  produced  the  calico  frock  for 
the  wife  she  just  overflowed  with  joy  like  a  child.  After 
many  expressions  of  delight  and  satisfaction  she  retired 
to  a  corner  to  put  it  on,  saying  :  — ■ 

"I'm  sure,  Miss  Patience,  no  one  could  say  I'm  not 
a-needin'  it,  fo'  I  ain't  had  a  chanct  to  wash  this  frock  I  got 
on  till  there  comes  a  red-hot  day,  fo'  I  didn't  have  a  thing  to 
put  on  w'ile  I'm  a-washin'  it." 

When  she  appeared  in  it  she  swelled  with  pride  and  said  :  — 

"The  pusson  that  made  this  frock  must  'a'  measured  me 
w'en  I  was  a-sleepin'.  No  dressmaker  could  'a'  fit  me  so 
well." 

I  found  that  this  poor  soul  had  been  for  a  week  nursing  a 
neighbor  night  and  day,  only  leaving  her  long  enough  to 
walk  the  mile  home  and  get  her  meals. 

Mrs.  Sullivan  is  very  old  as  well  as  very  ill  and  very  poor, 
so  that  all  the  lifting  and  cooking  and  work  of  every  kind 
Mrs.  Lewis  has  done.  When  I  said,  "But  you  ought  to  get 
your  meals  there,"  she  answered  :  — ■ 

"There  isn't  enough,  Miss  Patience,  in  the  house  but  jus' 
for  her,  an'  I'm  thankful  that  we've  got  plenty  o'  grits  to 
eat  now;  nobody  need  be  hungry  here." 

It  certainly  is  a  lesson  in  more  ways  than  one  to  go  among 
those  whose  lives  are  so  elementary.  This  woman,  who  has 
been  accused  of  failing  in  her  highest  duties,  who  knows  the 
daily  presence  of  want,  who  has  never  had  enough  of  any- 
thing but  air  and  sunshine  and  the  breath  of  life,  spends  day 
and  night  and  all  her  strength  in  nursing  a  woman  for  the 
moment  poorer  than  herself,  in  that  she  is  old  and  helpless, 
and  there  is  no  feeling  that  she  is  doing  anything  unusual. 

She  put  some  of  the  dry  hominy  in  a  bucket  and  saying, 
"Now  I  mus'  be  goin' ;  Miss  Sullivan  begged  me  pitiful  not 
to  stay  long,"  she  took  the  bucket  and  started  off  at  a  brisk 


238  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

walk,  but  I  asked  her  to  sit  on  the  back  of  the  buckboard  as 
I  had  to  pass  the  house.  This  delighted  her  and  we  had 
much  talk. 

I  asked  if  Mrs.  Sullivan  had  no  children  who  could  help 
with  the  nursing.     She  said  she  had  two. 

"  Yes,  mum,  she  has  a  daughter,  but  she's  mighty  feeble  an' 
she  lives  three  miles  away,  an'  it  jes  seems  as  if  she  couldn't 
get  to  cum  to  her  mar ;  an'  when  she  does  git  there,  well, 
she's  that  tuckered  out  an'  that  sorry  fur  her  mar,  that  she 
jes  sets  in  to  cry.  Then  Miss  Sullivan's  son  lives  with  her, 
but  he  seems  as  if  his  mind  was  a-goin' ;  he  kyan't  do  nothing." 

"Doesn't  he  work?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  yes,  mum,  he  goes  out  an'  works  turpentine  —  that's 
all  they've  got  to  live  on  —  but  he  don't  think  to  cut  a  stick 
of  wood,  or  bring  a  drop  of  water  'less'n  you  tell  him  to  do 
it.  His  mar's  too  sick  to  tell  him,  an'  he'll  jes  sit  there  an' 
see  the  fire  go  out  an'  never  think.  But  soon  as  I  tell  him  to 
cut  a  piece  o'  wood  he'll  do  it  right  off.  He's  a  big  strong 
man  an'  they  say  a  powerful  fellow  to  work,  but  he  don't 
seem  to  have  no  head  to  think." 

I  was  sorry  it  was  too  late  for  me  to  go  in  and  see  the  old 
woman  and  her  son  and  find  out  what  was  wrong  with  the 
latter.  I  remember  John  very  well.  When  I  taught  him 
in  Sunday-school  he  was  a  very  mischievous  boy,  but  not 
stupid  at  all.     I  cannot  think  what  has  come  to  him. 

The  drive  home  was  delightful.  No  automobile  disputed 
the  road  with  us  this  time. 

Peaceville,  October  27. 

Had  a  message  to-day  from  the  man  who  rents  the  farm 
that  he  was  ready  to  deliver  his  rent  in  kind.  It  was  a  little 
misty,  but  I  had  said  I  would  be  there,  so  rode  out  on  horse- 
back while  Gibbie  drove  the  ox  wagon  with  the  big  rack  to 
receive  the  corn  and  fodder.  It  is  "much  ado  about  nothing," 
but  I  was  solemn  and  put  down  the  little  numbers  in  my  book 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  239 

as  Mr.  C.  measured,  though  I  did  not  dismount.  The  corn, 
fodder,  and  peas  could  all  be  carried  in  the  wagon  at  one  time, 
so  one  knows  it  is  not  a  fortune.  We  have  about  1800  acres 
of  wild  land,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  tract  is  a  little  cabin 
where  my  father's  stock-minder  used  to  live,  and  every 
summer  as  we  moved  from  the  plantation,  all  the  cattle 
were  driven  out  into  the  pineland  to  spend  the  summer,  and 
fatten  on  the  rich  grass  of  the  savannahs  —  perhaps  that  is 
why  we  never  heard  of  Texas  fever  among  the  cattle  in  those 
days.  Certainly  the  imported  stock  which  my  father  always 
kept  throve  and  nourished,  and  they  returned  in  November 
fat  and  hearty.  Now  it  is  impossible  to  do  this  for  fear  of 
their  being  stolen,  and  the  summer  on  the  plantation  is  hard 
on  them. 

The  ride  was  delightful,  the  mist  so  soft  and  caressing. 
This  has  been  a  perfect  autumn  season,  and  I  feel  like  cling- 
ing to  the  skirts  of  each  day  of  crisp,  cool  temperature  and 
glowing,  gorgeous  color.  I  want  to  keep  winter  off  as  long 
as  possible. 

November  6. 

As  I  sat  on  the  piazza  to-day  about  noon  a  runner  came  to 
the  step,  an  unknown  negro.  He  looked  exhausted,  and  I 
said  :   "You  seem  tired  ;   sit  on  the  step." 

"Yes,  Miss,"  he  said.  "Dem  sen'  me  fu'  bring  yu'  dis 
talifone  messige,  en  dem  say,  '  Hurry.' " 

He  handed  me  a  note,  which  I  opened  hastily.  It  was  from 
the  rector  of  All  Saints,  Waccamaw,  saying:  "Mrs.  S.  of 
Rose  Hill  is  dead,  and  will  be  buried  at  The  Oaks  at  3  o'clock 
to-day." 

At  once  I  sent  a  message  to  Bonaparte  to  have  the  red 
boat  and  Elihu  ready  to  take  me  over  to  Waccamaw  and  I 
followed  as  soon  as  I  could  have  the  buckboard  got.  I  felt 
such  a  pang  that  I  had  allowed  myself  to  be  discouraged,  and 
not  gone  over  to  see  Mrs.  S.  when  the  impulse  seized  me  to  do 


240  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

so  two  weeks  ago,  and  now  her  remarkable  personality  was 
gone. 

When  I  got  to  the  plantation  I  found  that  Elihu,  with  all 
the  other  men  on  the  place,  was  cutting  rice  in  No.  8,  the  field 
they  had  rented  from  me,  which  is  some  distance  away,  and 
it  was  late  before  I  could  get  Elihu.  When  he  finally  ap- 
peared he  seemed  much  indisposed  for  any  exertion  ;  said  he 
was  worn  out ;  could  not  possibly  row  to  Waccamaw,  so  I 
concluded  I  would  have  to  give  up  going,  and  I  said  with  a 
sigh  :  "I  am  sorry  I  cannot  go.  Mrs.  S.  was  papa's  cousin. 
I  have  never  seen  her  since  he  took  me  to  visit  her  when  I 
was  a  child,  and  I  would  have  liked  to  attend  her  funeral, 
to  do  the  last  honors  to  her." 

I  was  just  thinking  aloud  as  I  often  do.  The  change  was 
instantaneous,  as  though  I  had  used  a  magic  word.  Elihu 
exclaimed,  "Ole  Mausa  cousin  fun'ral  !  Miss,  yu's  got  to 
go,  en  I's  got  to  tek  yu;  I  kyan't  trus'  no  one  else  for  tek  yu 
wanderin'  trou'  dem  crick ;  I  bleege  to  tek  yu,"  and  Bonaparte 
echoed  like  a  dignified  Greek  chorus,  "Ole  Mausa  cousin 
fun'ral.  Yu  got  to  go,"  repeated  several  times,  as  though 
life,  death,  eternity,  nothing  could  count  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  red  boat  was  rapidly  got  out.  It  was  leaking  badly, 
and  they  made  a  little  platform  of  boards  where  I  was  to 
sit,  to  keep  my  feet  dry.  As  I  finally  got  settled  in  the  boat 
I  asked  Bonaparte  the  time  and  found  it  was  3,  the  hour  I 
should  have  been  at  The  Oaks.  However,  being  in  the  boat, 
having  overcome  so  many  obstacles,  I  determined  not  to  be 
daunted  by  the  lateness  of  the  hour  —  also  the  clouds  had 
gathered  heavily  and  a  sprinkle  of  rain  was  falling.  I  bor- 
rowed Bonaparte's  competent  looking  silver  watch,  for  no 
watch  that  I  have  ever  owned  could  stand  my  strenuous  life 
for  more  than  three  months,  so  that  I  have  to  do  without 
one. 


A    WOMAN    RICE  PLANTER  241 

I  asked  Elihu  when  we  would  be  back,  as  we  glided  through 
the  first  canal.  He  answered:  "Not  till  long  after  dark." 
I  remonstrated,  "Why  it  surely  is  not  further  than  Waverly," 
but  he  answered,  "'E  mos'  twice  es  far."  I  felt  a  little  dis- 
mayed, but  we  kept  on  through  endless  windings  past 
Cherokee  Canal,  then  Long  Creek,  then  the  Thoroughfare, 
and  at  last  into  the  broad,  beautiful  Waccamaw.  When  we 
reached  The  Oaks,  the  competent  watch  pointed  to  five. 

It  was  a  deserted  tropical  looking  landing,  with  no  living 
thing  in  sight,  only  the  ruins  of  some  houses.  I  got  out  and 
followed  the  road  until  I  saw  across  a  field  at  some  distance 
several  vehicles.  I  walked  toward  them  and  found  the  pro- 
cession had  just  arrived  and  were  carrying  the  coffin  into  the 
graveyard,  a  private  one,  with  high  brick  walls  and  many 
monuments  of  past  generations.  Among  these  is  one  to 
Gov.  Joseph  Alston  (Mrs.  S.'s  uncle),  the  husband  of  the 
beautiful  and  ill-fated  Theodosia  Burr  ;  also  their  son,  Aaron 
Burr  Alston,  whose  death  almost  broke  the  mother's  heart. 

The  sacred  spot  looked  very  solemn  with  its  heavy  live 
oak  shadows  in  the  darkening  afternoon. 

Mrs.  S.  was  86,  I  believe,  and  a  saint  upon  earth. 
Since  the  death  of  her  twin  sister  some  years  ago  she  had 
lived  alone  on  her  plantation,  doing  all  the  good  and  kindness 
possible  to  the  people  around  her,  who  had  formerly  belonged 
to  her.  For  the  past  two  years  one  of  her  nieces  had  been 
with  her  always  and  was  with  her  on  the  plantation  when 
she  passed  peacefully  away.  There  were  forty  or  fifty  of 
her  people  who  had  followed  her  to  the  grave  and  stood 
near  showing  every  sign  of  grief. 

The  beautiful  service  of  our  Church  was  read,  and  we  sang 
"Rock  of  Ages,"  in  which  the  negroes  joined  with  great 
fervor,  weeping  softly  and  swaying  in  rhythm  to  the  music. 
I  had  only  a  few  minutes  to  see  the  family,  as  they  had  a 
long  drive  I  knew,  and  I  a  long  row  as  well  as  drive.     They 


242 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  243 

kindly  insisted  on  my  being  driven  down  to  the  boat,  and  I 
started  home. 

After  that  sudden  gleam  of  sunshine  the  mist  had  settled 
down  again  over  everything.  How  Elihu  found  his  way 
through  all  those  creeks  was  a  marvel.  I  hoped  when  the 
moon  appeared  it  would  be  clear ;  but  it  was  covered  with 
white  clouds,  which  made  a  soft  whiteness  which  was  most 
confusing,  and  it  looked  to  me  always  as  though  we  were  in 
an  oval  lake,  from  which  there  was  no  egress.  It  was  most 
beautiful  and  mysterious,  and  I  greatly  enjoyed  it.  When 
I  got  home  at  9  o'clock  I  was  very  tired  and  stiff  from  the  four 
hours  in  the  boat,  for  I  had  forgotten  to  take  a  cushion,  but 
I  was  very  glad  I  had  gone. 

Am  going  away  from  home  for  two  weeks  and  always  feel 
nervous  and  anxious  as  to  how  things  will  go  on  during 
my  absence.  I  hate  to  leave  Chloe  so  sick  and  suffering, 
for  she  misses  me  greatly  and  has  only  Dab  to  depend  on  in 
the  yard.  Besides,  my  neighbor  has  lost  three  fine  horses 
in  the  last  three  days  with  blind  staggers,  and  I  feel  as  if  I 
may  find  all  mine  dead  when  I  get  back. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Peaceville,  November  3. 

T  DROVE  up  from  Gregory  alone  yesterday,  reaching  the 
village  just  at  clusk.     I  thought  with  delight  of  the 
peace  and  quiet  of  the  pineland  settlement  after  the  dis- 
tress and  indignation  which  I  had  felt  since  I  left  it. 

Dab  ran  to  open  the  gate,  and  Chloe  had  a  nice  supper 
ready  for  me,  but  I  felt  something  in  the  air  that  made  me 
lose  the  restful  feeling,  and  as  soon  as  I  had  finished  my  dainty 
little  meal  and  Dab  had  cleared  away  things  Chloe  came 
in  arrayed  in  the  spotless  white  apron  and  kerchief  which  I 
dread,  for  they  mean  something  serious. 

After  a  few  trivial  efforts  on  my  part  to  keep  on  the  surface, 
for  I  was  so  tired  and  did  so  wish  to  float  a  little  while,  Chloe 
cleared  her  throat  and  began  :  — ■ 

"Miss  Pashuns,  ma'am,  I  cry  studdy  frum  Tuesday  night 
till  now." 

"My  dear  Chloe,"  I  exclaimed,  really  alarmed,  "how  dis- 
tressing !  Have  you  lost  some  of  your  family  ?  Not  your 
grandson,  I  trust!" 

"No,  ma'am,  I  wouldn't  a-cried  es  much  fu'  dat !  No, 
Miss  Pashuns,  dis  is  wuss  !     I  cry  en  I  cry  en  I  cry." 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  tell  me,  Chloe,  what  has  happened!" 

"Miss  Pashuns,  I  know  it  would  dustress  you  so  dat  I 
wouldn't  tell  you  till  you  dun  eat  yo'  suppa,  'case  I  say  maybe 
yu  might  faint  'way  w'en  yu  hear." 

"Oh,  Chloe,"  I  cried,  "I  will  faint  away  now  if  you  don't 
get  on  and  tell  me  what  has  happened." 

"Miss  Pashuns,  Dab  shot  Mr.  'Apa's  dog  !" 

244 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  245 

" Impossible,  Chloe  !     When?" 

Then  followed  a  long  narrative  which  I  did  not  altogether 
understand,  but  she  said:  "Didn't  bin  fu  my  gone  to  see 
Mr.  'Apa  an'  cry  an'  baig  urn  to  wait  till  yu  cum  back  Dab 
wud  'a'  bin  on  de  chain  gang  by  now,  fu  Mr.  'Apa  bin  dun 
indict  urn,  but  I  baig  um  for  hab  de  case  put  off  till  yu  cum 
back.     Happen  so  I  hear  'bout  um  een  time." 

I  called  for  the  lantern  and  went  off  at  once  to  Mr.  H. 
Chloe  begged  me  not  to  go  out  alone  into  the  night  and  said 
she  thought  Mr.  H.  and  all  the  family  would  be  in  bed,  but 
I  felt  I  must  know  the  worst  before  I  went  to  bed. 

When  I  knocked  the  door  opened  on  a  pretty  picture  of 
home,  a  beautiful  young  mother  leaning  over  a  six  weeks' 
baby  in  a  big  rocking-chair  used  as  a  cradle  and  four  boys 
sitting  around  the  fire.  I  begged  Mr.  H.  to  speak  with  me 
a  few  minutes  in  the  piazza,  as  I  thought  it  best  not  to  dis- 
cuss the  matter  before  all  those  boys,  though  it  was  certainly 
much  more  comfortable  inside  than  out,  for  it  was  sharply 
cool.     As  soon  as  the  door  closed  I  exclaimed  :  — 

"Mr.  H.,  I  am  too  distressed  to  hear  that  Dab  has  shot 
your  dog  !     I  cannot  tell  you  how  sorry  I  am  !     Is  it  dead  ?  " 

"No,  Miss  Pennington,  he  never  shot  the  dog  at  all,  and 
I  don't  think  he  meant  to  shoot  him  either.  This  is  the  way 
it  happened :  — 

"I  had  been  out  on  a  deer  hunt  and  was  coming  in  a  little 
after  dark,  my  hound  dog  running  ahead  of  me.  I  heard  him 
bark  at  something  when  I  got  near  my  house,  but  it  was  too 
dark  for  me  to  see  what  it  was  till  I  heard  the  report  of  a 
pistol  and  saw  the  flash  and  the  ball  dropped  near  by  me. 

"When  I  got  near  enough  to  see  it  was  Dab;  he  said  the 
dog  jumped  at  him  and  tore  his  pants  and  he  shot  to  scare 
the  dog,  but  he  said  he  didn't  shoot  at  him  and  I  don't 
believe  he  did,  but  I  indicted  him  because  it  was  a  very 
wrong  thing  for  him  to  shoot  right  in  the  road  that  way; 


246  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

he  might  have  shot  some  one ;  indeed  he  came  mighty  near 
hitting  me,  and  he  had  no  business  shooting  a  pistol  anyway ; 
it's  against  the  law. 

"So  I  indicted  him,  but  I  told  the  Magistrate  not  to  pro- 
ceed till  you  got  home." 

I  thanked  him  very  much  for  his  consideration  and  after 
making  a  little  visit  to  the  cosey  party  inside  I  went  home. 
I  asked  him  what  I  had  better  do,  as  I  had  not  the  faintest 
idea,  never  having  had  anything  to  do  in  law-courts. 

He  advised  me  to  go  and  see  the  Magistrate  and  said 
that  if  any  compromise  could  be  made  he  would  not  push 
the  case.  He  knew  the  punishment  was  a  fine  of  $50  or 
thirty  days  on  the  chain  gang. 

I  was  quite  overcome  by  his  kindness  and  magnanimity 
in  the  matter  and  tried  to  say  so,  but  by  this  time  I  was  so 
exhausted  that  I  fear  I  was  not  eloquent,  to  say  the  least. 

This  morning  I  interviewed  Dab  on  the  subject,  speaking 
with  all  the  force  and  wisdom  I  could.  I  cannot  go  to 
Judge  H.  until  after  to-morrow,  for  he  will  be  busy  with  the 
election  and  have  to  go  to  Gregory,  I  believe  —  so  I  went 
to  the  plantation. 

The  quantity  of  peas  gathered  is  most  encouraging.  I 
am  quite  delighted.  I  did  not  hope  for  half  so  many,  and 
now  the  vines  are  being  cut  for  hay  with  still  a  great  many 
pods  on  them.     It  has  not  been  cold  enough  yet  to  blast  them. 

The  colts  are  growing  finely  and  came  running  up  as  soon 
as  they  saw  me.  All  the  creatures,  horses,  cows,  pigs,  and 
sheep,  are  well,  and  I  derived  my  usual  refreshment  and 
brightening  by  a  few  hours  spent  in  God's  good  fresh  air 
with  the  dumb  things  and  the  faithful  trees,  and  came  home 
quite  cheerful  and  serene. 

Peaceville,  November  4. 

I  had  a  sleepless,  miserable  night ;  the  thought  of  Dab's 
going  to  the  chain  gang  for  firing  a  pistol  was  too  distressing, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  247 

and  I  saw  no  possibility  of  raising  $50.  It  was  a  great  com- 
fort to  me  that  Mr.  H.  did  not  believe  there  was  any  malice 
or  premeditation  in  the  act,  but  I  knew  very  well  there  were 
others  who  would  think  differently.  I  have  no  idea  what  the 
mental  attitude  of  the  magistrate  will  be. 

I  talked  with  Dab  a  long  time  and  told  him  that  while 
I  would  protect  him  always  from  injustice  I  would  never 
support  him  in  defying  the  law  in  any  way.  I  recalled  to 
his  mind  what  a  long  fight  I  had  made  with  him  about  a 
pistol,  how  when  he  was  a  little  fellow  and  somehow  got  hold 
of  a  pistol  which  looked  as  though  it  might  be  the  Adam  of 
all  firearms,  I  had  a  procession  formed,  he  leading,  Rab 
following,  and  I  bringing  up  the  rear,  down  to  the  creek, 
and  there  I  made  him  give  me  the  weapon  and  I  threw  it  as 
far  as  I  could  out  into  the  water. 

It  is  very  hard  to  know  whether  Dab  is  impressed  or  not. 
I  told  him  how  miserable  it  would  make  me  to  see  him  go  to 
the  chain  gang  after  all  the  trouble  I  had  taken  with  him, 
hoping  to  see  him  grow  up  a  respectable,  honest  man. 
I  could  not  keep  the  tears  from  coming  now  and  then,  but 
Dab's  black  face  was  sphinx-like  in  its  immobility.  I  told 
him  I  had  not  $50  to  pay,  and  that  all  I  could  do  would  be  to 
go  to  the  magistrate  and  plead  the  fact  that  it  was  his  first 
offence,  and  that  he  did  not  really  understand  what  a  serious 
matter  it  was  to  fire  a  pistol  on  the  public  highway. 

November  5. 

Drove  up  this  morning  to  see  Mr.  H.  about  Dab's  case. 
He  lives  at  one  of  the  old  plantation  homes,  which  has 
passed  into  new  hands.  I  have  never  seen  it  since,  and  was 
quite  moved  in  going  there.  It  is  a  long,  rambling  house,  a 
stone's  throw  from  the  Pee  Dee  River,  surrounded  by  live 
oaks. 

I  left  Dab  to  hold  Ruth  some  distance  from  the  house, 


248  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

out  of  ear-shot.  Mr.  H.  was  holding  court,  so  I  could  not 
see  him  at  once,  but  his  wife  asked  me  in  to  the  spick  and  span 
clean  house  and  showed  me  her  beautiful  begonias,  of  which 
she  asked  me  to  accept  cuttings,  which  I  was  pleased  to  do. 
When  Mr.  H.  arrived  I  made  my  plea  for  Dab,  and  Mr.  H. 
relieved  my  mind  by  saying  as  it  was  a  first  offence  and  Mr. 
A.  was  willing  not  to  push  it,  he  would  try  to  arrange  it  "as 
light  as  possible." 

He  would  send  the  Sheriff  in  a  day  or  two  for  Dab,  telling 
him  to  take  the  handcuffs  along  but  not  to  use  them  unless 
Dab  resisted  arrest ;  but  that  if  he  came  quietly,  gave  up 
the  pistol  and  answered  all  questions  frankly,  he  thought  it 
could  be  arranged.  He  then  set  going  a  phonograph  and 
treated  me  to  "Rock  of  Ages"  as  sung  by  Trinity  church 
choir,  New  York.     0  tempora,  o  mores! 

I  returned  home,  the  horizon  of  my  experience  enlarged 
in  an  unexpected  direction,  wondering  over  the  kindness  of 
people  generally,  but  very  weary  and  worn  with  anxiety. 

November  6. 

The  Sheriff  came  for  Dab  this  morning  while  he  was  curry- 
ing Ruth.  Dab  got  his  pistol  from  an  old  stump  in  the 
woods  where  he  kept  it  hid,  and  gave  it  up  and  went  quietly 
along.  I  do  hope  he  will  behave  properly ;  he  is  always  so 
respectful  to  me,  but  Chloe  tells  me  he  is  not  so  to  every  one. 
If  only  the  green-eyed  monster  could  be  eliminated,  life  would 
be  easier. 

10  p.m.  I  was  so  restless  this  morning  that  I  had  to  write 
a  few  lines.  Then  I  went  to  the  plantation  and  about 
3  o'clock  I  started  back  and  met  Dab  on  the  road,  return- 
ing, looking  somehow  solemn  and  made  over.  I  was  over- 
joyed to  see  him  and  tried  to  extract  from  him  some  account 
of  his  experience,  but  in  vain. 

His  stammer  was  terrific,  and  all  I  heard  was  that  Mr.  H. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


249 


— "*e£§3ses» 


I  met  Dab  on  the  road." 


250 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


read  the  law  at  length  to  him  and  impressed  upon  him  that 
as  it  was  his  first  offence  and  I  had  guaranteed  that  it  would 
never  occur  again  he  would  only  have  to  pay  costs,  but  that 
if  ever  again  he  carried  a  concealed  weapon  and  shot  it  within 
fifty  feet  of  a  public  highway  it  would  go  hard  with  him. 
I  feel  too  thankful  and  relieved  for  anything. 

November  8. 
Sunday.     A  very  beautiful  day,  and  I  am  always  influenced 
by  that,  so  I  begin  to  feel  rested  and  more  cheerful.     We 
had  a  very  pleasant  service  in  the  little 
chapel,  and  though  both  the  alto  and  my- 
self were  hoarse  the  hymns  were  com- 
forting. 

My  little  Sunday-school  chil- 
dren came  in  the  afternoon  and 
were  very  .sweet.  The  lesson 
may  not  do  them  much  good, 
but  it  does  me  a  great  deal. 

Cherokee,  November  11. 

Got  down  to  the  plantation 
early,  expecting  to  send  Gibbie 
out  with  the  ox  wagon  to  move 
the  heavy  things.  Found  he 
had  sent  a  message  to  say  he 
was  sick — a  sad  state  of  things, 
hands  digging  potatoes  and  no  one  to  plough  down  the  beds. 
I  went  to  see  Gibbie  to  see  if  he  were  really  sick  or  only  rest- 
ing after  his  month's  night  hunting. 

I  found  him  ill.  I  fear  pneumonia.  He  is  not  strong 
enough  for  all  that  exposure  at  night.  I  refrained  from  say- 
ing "I  told  you  so,"  but  spoke  very  sympathizing^  to  him. 
His  poor  breath  was  so  short ;   almost  a  pant. 


Cherokee  steps 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  251 

I  prescribed  for  him  until  we  could  get  a  doctor  and  had 
his  wife  lay  a  square  of  bacon  skin  sprinkled  with  turpentine 
over  the  side  where  the  pain  was.  Then  I  sent  for  Green 
and  told  him  he  must  take  charge  of  the  stable  and  cows 
until  his  brother  should  be  out  again,  that  I  would  let  it  go 
on  his  debt.  He  was  very  civil  and  said  he  would  do  his 
best,  which  was  a  great  comfort.  It  has  been  a  perfect  day 
—  bright,  crisp,  cool  —  and  now  that  the  effort  is  over  it  is 
delightful  to  be  back  in  the  large,  pretty  rooms  of  the  Chero- 
kee house,  with  everything  pleasing  to  the  eye  within  and 
without,  and  I  feel  very  grateful  to  the  Good  Father.  This 
is  my  mother's  birthday  and  I  would  have  liked  to  lay  some 
flowers  on  her  resting-place,  but  it  was  not  possible,  so  I  will 
go  to-morrow. 

Sunday,  November  12. 

Started  very  early  and  drove  to  Gregory  with  a  great 
basket  of  beautiful  roses.  Was  in  time  to  attend  service 
in  the  old  church  of  Prince  George  —  then  I  drove  in  to 
Woodstock  and  dined  with  my  brother  and  was  beguiled 
by  the  beautiful  afternoon  to  stay  rather  late  for  my  long 
drive  alone. 

The  key  to  my  front  gate  at  Cherokee  had  been  misplaced, 
and  so  I  had  to  drive  through  the  barn-yard  way,  which  made 
it  necessary  to  open  four  gates.  It  was  quite  dark  by  the 
time  I  reached  the  house  and  I  was  surprised  to  find  it  shut 
up  and  without  a  light.  I  tied  R,omola  and  went  all  around 
to  try  each  door,  but  in  vain  ;  there  was  no  one,  and  I  con- 
cluded that  Chloe  had  supposed  I  would  spend  the  night  at 
Woodstock  and  had  gone  in  the  woods  to  visit  her  sister. 

Romola  was  weary  and  reluctant  to  start  out  again,  but 
I  determined  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  go  out  to  Bona- 
parte's house  in  the  "street"  and  get  him  to  come  and  break 
open  a  window  for  me  to  get  in.  I  found  it  very  hard  to 
open  all  the  gates  again,  but  I  got  to  the  street  safely  and 


252  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

there  I  found  Chloe.     She  said  she  had  gone  after  Rab,  who 

had  stayed  out  late  playing  with  the  children,  and  she  was 

afraid  to  stay  alone  at  the  yard,  having  just  heard  of  little 

old  Grace's  death,  my  former  cook,  whom  I  was  expecting 

to  come  back. 

November   14. 

Great  excitement  over  the  illness  of  my  little  grade  Guern- 
sey heifer  Winnie.  I  had  three  people  working  on  her  from 
11  till  4.     To-night  she  seemed  better. 

Gertie  is  going  to  be  married,  so  I  have  taken  a  new  girl, 
to  be  here  a  week  before  Gertie  leaves  and  learn  something 
from  her.  When  I  asked  Gertie  what  she  wanted  me  to  give 
her  as  a  wedding  present,  she  answered,  after  much  bridling 
and  what  would  have  been  blushing  if  her  onyx  hue  had  per- 
mitted, "Ef  you  could,  ma'am,  I'd  like  the  'sperience  dress." 

"And  what  do  you  wish  for  that  dress?'*' 

"Pearl  gray  cashmere,  please,  ma'am." 

"That  sounds  very  pretty  and  bridelike,  Gertie,  but  I'm 
afraid  it  will  be  expensive." 

"Yes,  ma'am,  'e  cos'  20  cent  a  ya'd  to  Gregory." 

Much  relieved  to  hear  the  price,  I  promised  readily  to 
get  it.  I  have  already  provided  all  the  materials  and  had 
the  cake  baked  for  her. 

November  15. 

Was  particularly  busy  this  morning  when  old  Katie  arrived. 
She  comes  about  once  in  two  weeks  to  ask  for  whatever  she 
needs,  and  has  done  so  for  years,  and  I  clothe  and  feed  her 
in  this  way,  giving  her  just  what  she  asks  for.  Wonderful 
to  say,  this  time  she  brought  me  a  present  of  four  eggs  and 
I  was  quite  touched.  I  gave  her  four  quarts  of  rice,  some 
grist,  a  small  piece  of  bacon,  and  some  milk,  and  after  the 
politeness  of  the  moment  I  returned  to  my  work.  Had 
not  been  fifteen  minutes  when  old  Louisa  came  with  a  little 
present  of  potatoes  and  a  long  appeal  for  sympathy  and  a 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  253 

letter  from  her  daughter  which  she  wanted  me  to  answer 
for  her.  This  took  a  long  time.  I  addressed  and  stamped 
an  envelope  which  I  enclosed,  so  that  Louisa  will  certainly 
get  an  answer. 

Just  returning  to  the  putting  down  of  the  carpet,  which  I 
have  to  superintend  most  carefully  in  every  detail,  when  a 
man  came  to  ask  to  rent  the  estate  farm  on  the  sea-shore, 
so  that  I  only  got  two  carpets  down,  and  finished  those 
very  late. 

My  good  Chloe  is  in  very  bad  humor,  and  things  are 
difficult.  She  is  furious  at  my  having  taken  Gibbie  to  milk 
and  cut  wood  and  be  about  the  yard,  though  she  acknowl- 
edges that  he  does  his  work  well,  but  he  does  not  come  of  a 
family  from  which  house  servants  used  to  be  taken,  and  all 
the  negroes  resent  his  elevation  to  employment  around  the 
house,  though  he  does  not  enter  it  except  to  bring  in  wood, 
which  he  does  faithfully. 

December  1. 

Have  been  worrying  a  great  deal  lately  about  the  taxes ; 
they  are  nearly  $200  and  I  do  not  know  where  the  money  is 
to  come  from.  Mr.  S.,  who  has  for  several  years  visited  this 
section  buying  rice,  has  written  to  me  several  times  asking  if 
I  had  any  rough  rice  to  sell.  I  did  not  answer  from  sheer 
lachesse.  I  hated  to  say  that  I  had  none.  The  little  I 
have  made  this  year  I  must  keep  for  seed.  To-day  I  drove 
to  Gregory  and  met  Mr.  S.  in  the  street,  and  he  stopped  me 
and  asked  if  I  had  never  received  his  letter.  I  answered 
just  the  truth,  that  I  had  no  rice  at  all  this  year  except 
seed  rice,  and  only  a  little  old  rice  left  over,  on  which  I  had 
been  feeding  my  stock,  and  I  knew  he  did  not  want  that,  but 
he  asked  me  to  send  him  a  sample  of  that  at  once,  which  I 
gladly  promised  to  do. 

I  bought  the  pearl  gray  cashmere  for  Gertie's  '"sperience" 
dress,  a  lovely  looking  soft  stuff,  truly  only  20  cents  a  yard ; 


254  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

cotton,  I  suppose,  but  very  pretty.  Gertie  was  enchanted 
and  said  it  was  exactly  right.  Fashion  is  as  exacting  with 
them  as  with  the  highest  social  layer,  and  not  to  comply 
with  what  is  just  the  last  touch  of  elegance  for  a  bride  would 
be  terrible  to  Gertie. 

When  I  offered  to  give  her  the  wedding  dress  she  said  it 
must  be  fine  white  lawn,  and  she  would  rather  get  it  herself, 
as  she  knew  where  to  get  the  finest,  that  means  about  15 
cents  a  yard,  and  she  will  have  it  made  up  in  the  latest 
fashion  for  75  cents  or  $1  at  the  utmost. 

December  7. 

Took  the  long  drive  to  Gregory  again  to  receive  and  bring 
up  a  mare  that  has  been  sent  me  to  keep  for  the  winter. 
Having  no  one  whom  I  can  trust  to  go  to  Gregory  without 
visiting  the  great  moral  institution,  the  Dispensary,  I  have 
to  go  myself  and  take  Cable  "with  me  to  lead  the  horse  back. 
I  have  never  taken  him  anywhere  with  me  before,  but  he  is  a 
quiet,  civil  spoken  negro,  and  comes  of  good  family,  and  is 
not  deaf  like  Gibbie,  so  I  hired  him  to-day. 

Met  Mr.  S.  and  he  said  he  had  written  to  offer  $1  for  one 
sample  of  rice  and  $1.05  for  the  other.  I  told  him  the  letter 
had  not  reached  me,  but  I  would  accept  his  offer.  I  tried 
not  to  let  him  see  how  surprised  and  delighted  I  was.  After 
this  I  positively  tread  on  air,  for  behold  the  tax  problem 
solved,  as  I  have  nearly  four  hundred  bushels. 

To  make  my  heart  still  lighter,  Jim  came  to  ask  if  he  might 
speak  to  me,  and  he  is  anxious  to  come  back.  I  think  I  dis- 
couraged him,  unless  his  wife  is  willing  to  move  into  the 
country  with  him.  He  represents  that  he  is  getting  very 
high  wages,  which  he  also  represents  that  he  certainly  earns, 
for  to  use  his  own  expression  he  "delivers  a  cow  a  day  on  his 
bicycle!"  This  marvellous  statement  means  that  he  is 
working  with  a  market,  and  delivers  the  supplies  on  a  bicycle 
instead  of  a  delivery  wagon. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  255 

He  says  his  health  is  wretched  and  he  pines  to  come  back 
to  the  country  and  to  Ruth  and  Dandy  and  the  other  horses. 
I  told  him  I  could  not  possibly  pay  the  wages  he  was  getting, 
but  he  said  he  could  save  more  with  less  wages  in  the  country, 
which  of  course  is  true. 

Altogether  the  day  was  a  pleasant  one  in  spite  of  fatigue 
and  anxiety  as  to  Nana's  successful  leading  home.  I  pro- 
posed to  Cable  to  ride  her,  but  he  seems  very  timid  about 
horses,  and  though  all  battered  and  bruised  from  rough 
usage  on  the  railroad  she  was  full  of  spirit  and  anxious  to 
have  her  own  way. 

I  was  afraid  we  might  have  trouble  at  the  ferry,  for  Nana 
is  a  mountain  horse  and  had  never  seen  a  ferry,  accustomed 
to  a  bridge  or  a  ford,  and  it  would  be  decidedly  awkward  if 
she  took  a  notion  to  ford  the  Black  River,  as  it  is  (more  or 
less)  sixty  feet  deep  at  the  ferry.  I  had  behind  the  buckboard 
a  bale  of  fruit  trees  from  Berckman's  clone  up  in  rye-straw, 
with  the  heads  of  rye  left  on.  This  Nana  was  so  eager  to 
get  a  good  bite  of,  that  she  followed  into  the  ferry  without 
noticing  where  she  was  going,  but  when  she  found  the  flat 
in  motion,  she  seemed  frightened.  I  told  Cable  to  let  her 
eat  all  the  rye  she  wanted  and  even  the  precious  fruit  trees, 
rather  than  have  her  begin  to  fight,  and  all  went  well.  She 
stood  quietly  eating  while  we  crossed. 

December  8. 

Not  having  yet  succeeded  in  getting  any  one  to  patch  the 
boiler  to  the  threshing  mill,  I  determined  to  go  myself  to 
Waverly  and  try  to  get  some  one.  I  sent  Bonaparte  to  measure 
the  cracks  that  I  might  take  the  measurements  over  with  me, 
and  told  Gibbie  to  get  the  red  boat  ready  for  me.  Gibbie, 
who  is  very  deaf,  did  not  hear  "red"  and  I  found  him  tugging 
at  my  white  boat,  which  is  up  under  the  piazza,  waiting  to  be 
caulked  and  painted.  Fortunately  I  passed  by  and  saw  him, 
for  it  was  an  impossibility  for  him  to  move  it  unaided.     I 


256  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

succeeded  in  making  him  understand  that  he  was  to  bring 
the  red  boat  from  the  barn-yard  to  the  house-landing  for  me. 

I  went  in  and  turned  the  eggs  in  the  incubator,  filled  and 
trimmed  the  lamp,  donned  my  boating  outfit,  and  went  to 
the  landing.  A  long  wait  and  then  Gibbie  appeared,  look- 
ing hopeless.  "Miss,  I  kyan'  fin'  Bony  no  ways,  en  'e  got 
de  oah  en  de  oahlock  shet  up  een  de  balm." 

I  expressed  great  impatience  at  this.  Bonaparte  should 
not  lock  up  my  oars.  I  always  have  kept  them  at  the  house, 
but  poor  Bonaparte  knows  his  own  race  so  well  that  he  has 
an  infinite  distrust  of  them  and  locks  up  everything  until  it 
has  become  a  mania. 

Having  suggested  every  possible  place  to  find  Bonaparte, 
at  last  I  said:    "Have  you  looked  in  the  boiler?" 

"No,  ma'am,"  with  a  wondering  look. 

"Well,  look  in  there  at  once." 

He  soon  returned  at  a  run  to  say  that  "Uncle  Tinny  and 
Uncle  Bony  were  both  in  the  b'iler"  and  wanted  a  lantern. 
This  was  sent,  and  after  a  prolonged  pause  they  both  appeared 
with  the  measurements  of  the  cracks. 

I  patiently  tried  to  understand  Tinny's  explanation  as  to 
where  the  holes  were,  but  in  vain.  At  last  I  said  :  "Anthony, 
you  just  get  in  the  boat  and  go  over  to  Waverly  with  me  and 
you  can  explain  to  Captain  Frank  where  the  damage  is,  so  that 
he  will  know  what  materials  to  send  when  he  sends  a  man." 

"But,  Miss,  I  ain't  fix  fo'  go.  Ef  yo'  been  tell  me  yo' 
wan'  me  fo'  go  to  Wav'ly  wid  yo',  I'd  a  dress  maself,  but  I 
ain'  fix  ;  look  a'  me." 

I  looked,  and  truly  the  little  gnome  was  an  objecx  —  an 
old,  tattered  derby  hat,  with  the  mellow  green  tint  of  age, 
a  very  dirty  new  bright  green  and  white  plaid  shirt,  which 
only  emphasized  the  extraordinary  patchwork  nether  gar- 
ments and  coat,  from  the  pocket  of  which  conspicuously 
protruded  a  bottle. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  257 

With  a  grave  face  I  assured  the  old  man  that  he  was  quite 
decent  and  must  go,  and  that  as  he  was  a  fine  paddler  he  could 
paddle  while  Gibbie  rowed  and  we  would  go  like  a  steam  tug. 
This  reconciled  him  to  going  in  his  working  trim,  and  we 
started  —  I  sitting  in  the  bow  with  Tag,  my  nondescript 
terrier,  Gibbie  in  the  middle  with  oars,  and  the  gnome  at  the 
stern  paddling. 

All  this  delay  had  consumed  hours  and  the  sky  had  dark- 
ened and  it  felt  like  rain.  Chloe  came  to  the  wharf  to  beg 
me  to  wait,  but  I  had  wasted  so  much  time  and  patience  that 
I  could  not  put  it  off. 

I  soon  found  it  was  a  special  mercy  that  I  had  caught  old 
Tinny  and  made  him  come,  for  Gibbie  proved  a  poor  oars- 
man and  the  wind  was  against  us  and  very  high,  so  though 
we  had  the  tide  our  progress  was  not  rapid,  and  I  was  glad 
to  have  the  old  man,  who  knows  all  about  boats.  With  the 
head  wind  Tag  and  I,  high  in  the  bow,  were  a  great  disad- 
vantage. I  longed  for  Elihu,  for  I  would  have  felt  safer 
with  him. 

To  make  things  worse,  when  we  got  into  the  broad  Wac- 
camaw  where  the  whitecaps  were  dancing,  a  steamer  passed 
up  the  river,  making  such  big  waves  that  Tinny  wanted  to 
turn  back  without  crossing,  but  I  was  not  willing,  as  we  were 
more  than  halfway  to  the  mills,  and  to  my  surprise  Gibbie 
supported  me  and  we  went  on.  Fortunately  I  had  taken 
what  the  negroes  call  an  "  'iler,"  a  heavy  rubber  coat,  to  put 
over  my  knees.  I  had  amused  myself  with  pencil  and  pad, 
writing  until  the  pad  got  too  wet,  for  the  water  dashed  in 
constantly.  Poor  Tag,  straight  up  on  his  hind  legs  in  the 
bow,  looked  out  with  dreary  eyes,  for  at  the  best  of  times  he 
hates  water,  and  no  doubt  he  said  to  himself  that  if  he  were 
a  human  he  would  have  more  sense  than  to  leave  a  bright  fire 
and  comfortably  carpeted  room  to  be  dashed  and  splashed 
in  this  way. 


258  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

However,  we  reached  the  mill  safely,  and  if  only  I  had  been 
successful  in  my  errand,  I  would  not  mind,  but  Captain  L. 
said  he  could  not  possibly  spare  any  workman  to  send.  This 
was  a  great  blow,  for  I  had  written  to  him  in  June  about  it 
and  he  promised  to  send  some  one  to  repair  the  boiler,  even 
naming  a  day  when  he  would  come.  I  do  not  know  what  to 
do  now,  for  he  knows  all  about  such  work  and  could  tell  me 
exactly  what  it  was  best  to  do,  and  I  have  such  confidence  in 
him.  I  did  so  wish  to  get  the  very  little  rice  I  have  threshed 
out  before  Christmas.  I  will  have  to  try  to  get  a  man  from 
Gregory. 

As  I  rowed  up  to  the  mills  I  came  upon  a  flat  heavily  loaded 
with  lightwood  and  recognized  two  of  my  men  on  it.  I  said, 
"Why,  Billy,  what  are  you  doing  here?  Whose  wood  is 
that?" 

"De  my  own." 

Now  I  know  why  I  have  had  so  much  trouble  in  getting  my 
wood  cut  and  sold.  I  had  put  Billy  in  charge  and  he  has  been 
steadily  stealing  my  wood,  he  and  his  brother  together, 
shipping  it  in  a  flat  owned  by  their  father,  who  is  a  gentleman 
of  leisure  living  on  his  own  land  on  a  pension  which  he  receives 
from  the  great  Government  of  these  United  States. 

Of  course  I  will  have  to  send  Billy  and  Sol  off  the  place 
after  this  discovery,  for  as  Billy  had  been  put  in  charge  of 
the  cutting  and  flatting  of  my  wood  and  has  so  betrayed  his 
trust,  I  cannot  let  him  stay,  but  he  will  move  to  my  neighbor's 
and  continue  no  doubt  to  steal  my  wood,  as  his  father's 
farm  is  very  near  my  line.  It  is  ten  acres.  Though  every  one 
on. the  place  has  known  all  summer  what  was  going  on,  no  one 
would  give  me  the  least  hint  of  it,  and  I  never  would  have 
known  it  if  I  had  not  made  this  trip  to  Waverly  and  come 
upon  them  in  the  act  of  unloading  twelve  cords  of  splendid 
lightwood.  Of  course  it  would  be  useless  to  take  any  legal 
steps  when  it  is  impossible  to  get  testimony. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  259 

I  got  back  very  weary ;  it  is  astonishing  how  true  the  old 
saying  is,  "A  cheerful  heart  goes  all  the  day,  while  a  sad  one 
tires  in  a  mile,"  and  mine  was  very  sad  on  the  way  home. 

Cherokee,  December  9. 

Was  very  busy  this  morning  writing  letters  to  catch  the 
mail  which  passes  my  gate  at  11,  when  they  came  in  to  say 
that  Annette  wanted  to  see  me  "pa'tick'ler."  I  went  out 
and  said,  rather  shortly  :  "What  can  I  do  for  you,  Annette  ? 
This  is  a  busy  day  and  you  must  talk  quickly."  Annette 
twisted  her  hands  together  nervously  once  or  twice,  and  then 
answered :    "I  came  to  baig  you  to  make  my  will,  ma'am." 

"Why,  Annette,  do  you  feel  ill?" 

Her  head  went  down  and  her  apron  came  up,  half  covering 
her  face,  and  she  said :  — 

"No,  ma'am,  but  I  'spects  to  be  married  again.  I  bin  a 
fateful  wife  to  St.  Luke  en'  I  bin  a  fateful  widder  to  'im  f'r 
t'ree  year ;  but  now  a  very  'spectable  man  is  co't  me,  en'  I'se 
to  be  married  next  week,  en'  I  wants  to  put  all  St.  Luke 
proppity  to  'e  chillun,  de  house  en'  de  fa'am  between  dem, 
en'  de  cow  fer  Annie,  en'  de  two  heffer  between  dem.  De  man 
I  gwine  marry  got  'e  own  house  en'  fa'am,  en'  'e  seem  to  speak 
en'  act  very  fair,  but  I  wan'  to  lef  St.  Luke  chillun  secure." 

I  was  so  delighted  at  this  evidence  of  Annette's  intelli- 
gence, knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  loyalty  to  her  dead 
husband's  interest,  that  I  forgot  all  about  my  important 
letters  and  drew  up  a  most  impressive  document  which  I  had 
her  sign  in  the  presence  of  three  witnesses,  being  the  disposal 
of  real  estate.  She  only  "teched  de  pen,"  that  is,  put  her 
hand  on  the  end  of  the  pen  while  I  wrote  her  name,  and  she 
made  a  mark.  When  the  will  was  satisfactorily  executed 
she  wanted  me  to  keep  it,  but  this  I  declined  to  do,  advising 
her  to  give  it  into  her  mother's  care,  if  she  preferred  not  to 
keep  it  herself. 


260 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


December  10. 

Went  to  church,  though  there  was  a  gale  blowing  and  the 

trees  looked  very  dangerous  buckling  and  bending  over  the 

road.     Ruth  behaved  well,  though  she  did  not  like  it.     When 

I  got  back,  bringing  L.  to  dinner  with  me,  I  found  Jim  waiting 

to  see  me,  having  ridden  up  from  Gregory  on 

his  bicycle.     He  said  he  wanted  to  come  back, 

that  his  wife  was  not  only  willing  but  anxious 

for  him  to  come,  as  she  had  no  pleasure  in  his 

, ^   _      life  in  town,  he  was  so  ailing  and 

worked  so  hard.     He  begged  me 

to  take  him.     The  only  thing  he 

wanted  to  ask  was  that  I  would 

let  him  spend  every  Sunday  in 

Gregory,  for  he  sang  in  the  choir 

in  his  church  and  didn't  want 

to  give  up  the  music.     I  told 

him  I  would  always  do  so  if 

possible,  but  that  there  might 

be  circumstances  which  would 

make  it  impossible  to  spare  him 

on  Sunday. 

He  cannot  come  until  he  gets 
some  one  to  take  his  place,  but  as  he  is  coming  I  will  put  off 
the  meat  curing  and  sausage  making  until  he  comes,  for  my 
mother  taught  him  the  best  way  of  doing  all  that,  and  it 
makes  it  so  much  easier  than  undertaking  it  with  a  green 
hand.  Jim  is  to  do  almost  everything,  under  our  present 
agreement ;  but  Gibbie  is  still  to  milk  and  to  keep  the  stables 
clean  and  cut  wood  for  the  house. 

December    11. 

Lent  Bonaparte  the  ox  wagon  and  team  to  go  to  Gregory 
and  lay  in  his  household  supplies.  Sent  a  note  to  Billy  P.  — 
and  his  brother,  who  had  been  selling  the  lightwood  for  them- 


The  smoke-house  at  Cherokee 
for  meat  curing. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  261 

selves  instead  of  for  me,  telling  them  to  leave  the  place  with 
their  families  at  once.  Of  course  I  should  have  taken  the 
money  for  the  wood,  but  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  do 
that  without  some  legal  process,  and  as  I  could  not  get  any 
witness  to  testify  against  them  any  legal  process  was  impos- 
sible. If  I  had  ordered  them  to  give  me  one-half  the  money, 
quite  possibly  they  might  have  done  it ;  but  they  might  have 
refused  to  do  it  and  I  would  then  have  been  powerless.  I  am 
very  careful  not  to  give  any  order  which  I  cannot  have  obeyed. 

December  12. 

Billy  and  Sol  came  to  beg  me  to  let  them  stay  until  Janu- 
ary, but  I  told  them  I  had  trusted  them  and  they  had  be- 
trayed my  trust  and  must  go  at  once.  I  hate  to  lose  their 
wives,  who  are  good  workers,  and  their  little  children,  who 
come  to  say  catechism  and  sing  hymns  and  have  a  stick  of 
candy  every  Sunday  afternoon.  Sol's  wife,  Aphrodite,  is  such 
a  specimen  of  health  and  maternal  vigor  that  I  delight  to  see 
her  going  to  work  with  her  procession  of  little  ones  behind 
her.  The  men  themselves  are  strong,  able-bodied  workers, 
and  I  shall  miss  them ;  but  once  having  begun  to  depredate 
upon  me,  nothing  will  stop  them. 

I  find  now  that  recently  they  have  been  living  out  of  my 
vegetable  garden,  and  the  potato  banks  have  been  robbed 
and  there  are  dark  hints  as  to  their  guilt  in  that,  too.  I  told 
them  they  must  whip  their  rice  out  by  hand  at  once  so  as  to 
pay  their  rent,  and  take  the  rest  with  them.  It  is  a  sad 
state  of  things  that  one  is  unable  to  secure  redress  in  any  way 
for  depreciation,  and  so  the  only  thing  to  do  when  a  tenant 
goes  wrong  in  this  way  is  to  send  him  off,  so  that  unless  one 
winks  at  evil  deeds  or  condones  offences,  one  will  soon  be 
without  hands  entirely. 

December  13. 

Yesterday,  driving  out,  I  saw  a  raft  of  very  fine  poplar  logs 
being  made  down  by  the  bridge  in  the  creek,  and  this  morning 


262 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


Sol's  wife.  Aphrodite,  is  a  specimen  of  maternal  health  and  vigor 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


263 


I  walked  out  to  see  whose  logs  they  were.  I  have  on  my 
woodland  across  the  creek  some  very  beautiful  poplars,  some 
of  them  about  three  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base.  I  have 
several  times  been  offered  a  price  for  them,  but  have  always 
answered:  "When  I  am  in  need  of  bread  I  will  sell  those 
trees,  but  not  before."  Now  I  feared  some  one  might  have 
cut  them,  hence  my  desire  to  inquire  about  the  raft. 

I  found  Jack  and  Monday  at  work  on  the  raft,  which  was 
composed  of  splendid  pine  as  well  as  poplar  logs.     Both  of 


I  saw  a  raft  of  very  fine  poplar  logs  being  made. 

these  men  had  belonged  to  my  father  and  now  own  farms  and 
woodland  of  their  own  about  two  miles  away.  They  assured 
me  the  logs  all  came  from  their  own  land  and  had  been  hauled 
with  their  own  ox  teams.  I  complimented  them  on  the  size 
and  beauty  of  the  poplar,  and  just  at  that  moment  Daniel, 
another  one  of  our  former  people,  now  a  prosperous  land- 
owner, came  by  in  his  canoe,  and  I  took  passage  with  him  up 


264  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  creek  to  my  woodland,  as  I  wanted  to  make  sure  that  my 
poplars  were  still  standing. 

As  I  got  out  at  the  landing  I  offered  to  pay  him,  but  he 
said  :  "Oh,  no,  Miss  ;  you  don't  owe  me  a  cent.  I  was  just 
on  my  way  home,  and  I'm  glad  to  have  de  chance  to  do  it 
for  you." 

I  thanked  him  suitably  for  his  pleasant  feeling.  At  the 
landing  there  was  a  raft  tied  of  very  large  logs.  I  asked 
Daniel  whose  it  was  and  he  said  it  belonged  to  Frank  and 
Logan,  who  were  cutting  on  my  land.  I  was  greatly  shocked. 
Logan  is  the  son  of  one  of  my  father's  most  trusted  servants 
who  died  a  few  years  ago  leaving  eight  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters grown  up  and  married.  He  was  a  first  class  engineer 
and  blacksmith  and  could  be  counted  upon  always  to  do 
faithful,  good  work.  His  sons  had  most  of  them  followed  his 
trade  after  a  fashion,  and  all  of  them  had  what  is  now  called 
education  (without,  however,  any  training)  and  are  smart 
men ;  but  not  one  of  them  has  the  character,  the  thorough- 
ness, the  reliability,  of  the  old  man,  who  could  neither  read 
nor  write,  but  who  had  been  trained  to  do  one  thing  as  well 
as  it  could  be  done. 

The  sons  have,  one  by  one,  left  my  service  to  go  where  there 
was  more  demand  for  their  work  and  more  pay,  but  a  kindly 
feeling  has  remained  between  us.  They  are  all  prosperous, 
living  on  farms  of  their  own. 

Some  months  ago  Logan  brought  Frank,  a  stranger  to  me, 
to  ask  to  handle  the  fallen  pine  trees  on  my  land  and  give  me 
one-third  of  the  proceeds.  They  said  they  had  fine  ox  teams 
and  each  had  a  logging  cart  and  were  fixed  for  the  business. 
After  thinking  over  it  a  while  I  consented,  for  I  had  been  over 
the  land  and  knew  that  there  were  many  fine  large  trees 
blown  down  by  the  storm  which  would  only  rot  on  the  ground 
if  I  refused,  for  I  had  no  reliable  hands  to  get  them  to  market 
myself.     I  made  them  sign  a  paper  saying  they  were  to  cut 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


265 


no  trees,  only  to  take  the  prostrate  pine,  and  was  quite 
pleased  when  the  arrangement  was  completed. 

The  results  had  disappointed  me,  being  much  less  than  I 
had  supposed  they  would  be.  Every  now  and  then  they 
brought  me  $8,  with  account  of  a 
raft  in  Captain  L.'s  hand- writing 
showing  the  amount  of  my  third, 
and  I  had  been  suspecting  that 
they  were  carrying  many  rafts  to 
Gregory  and  selling  them  on  their 
own  account,  not  giving  me  the 
third,  but  I  did  not  see  how  I  could 
find  out  the  truth.  They  had  come 
to  me  in  the  winter  to  ask  permis- 
sion to  "dead"  some  cypress.  This 
means  to  ring  the  cypress  so  as  to 
kill  it,  otherwise  it  cannot  be 
handled  ;   it  will  not  float  if  green. 

I  refused  to  give  permission  for 
this,  and  a  short  time  afterward  they  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
cut  some  poplar.  This  I  forbade  with  horror,  and  they  went 
away.  Now  the  sight  of  this  raft  made  me  understand  of 
what  treachery  they  had  been  guilty  toward  my  trees. 

I  counted  the  logs  —  twenty  pine,  four  cypress,  and  two 
poplar  ;  then  I  walked  out  into  the  woods  and  soon  came  upon 
Logan  with  his  team  hauling  a  splendid  log  and  Frank  not  far 
behind  with  another.  Just  for  a  moment,  as  I  stood  waiting 
for  them  to  come  up,  it  flashed  through  my  mind  what  a  rash 
thing  perhaps  I  was  doing,  as  both  of  these  men  are  rather 
ugly  tempered.  I  had  sent  Daniel  off  with  his  boat,  thinking 
some  one  might  come  along  the  creek  by  the  time  I  was  ready 
to  go  back.  No  one  at  the  house  had  the  least  idea  where  I 
was,  for  I  had  not  intended  making  this  extended  trip  when 
I  left. 


Cypress  trees. 


266  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

When  the  men  came  up  I  taxed  them  with  having  done 
what  I  had  expressly  forbidden  them  to  do.  At  first  they 
were  disposed  to  be  rude  and  answered  roughly,  but  I  went 
on  very  quietly,  using  all  the  self-control  possible,  to  tell 
them  that  they  had  violated  their  contract  and  put  them- 
selves entirely  in  my  power ;  that  I  needed  no  witnesses, 
for  my  own  eyes  had  seen  what  they  were  doing.  Gradually 
their  whole  manner  changed.  One  hat  went  off  and  then 
the  other  and  Logan  came  a  step  or  two  nearer,  and  with  a 
most  dramatic  air  of  humility  and  penitence  said :  — 

"Miss,  you  right ;  en  we  cry  guilty,  guilty  !  We  own  um, 
we's  guilty,  en  you  know,  miss,  w'en  a  man  stan'  'e  trial  een 
de  co't,  en  dat  man  cry  guilty,  de  jedge  don'  put  de  law  so 
heaby  to  um.  We  dun  wrong,  miss  ;  we  egkno'leclge  we  sin, 
en  we  pleads  yo'  mussy  !" 

I  was  completely  taken  aback.  I  was  prepared  for  anything 
but  this,  and  I  had  no  idea  what  to  say  in  my  surprise.  While 
I  considered  they  stood  with  bowed  heads,  eyes  fixed  on  the 
ground,  and  every  air  of  complete  surrender.  I  was  dis- 
armed, and  of  course  did  not  follow  up  my  victory  as  I 
should.  I  gave  them  a  little  discourse  on  judgment  and 
mercy  and  on  the  awful  sin  of  deceiving  and  taking  advantage 
of  one  who  had  trusted  one.  Then  I  told  them  they  could 
take  the  timber  they  had  cut  and  hauled,  to  market  and  give 
me  half  instead  of  one-third,  and  that  after  selling  these  logs 
they  must  not  touch  a  stick  of  timber  of  any  kind  again. 

With  expressions  of  profound  thanks  they  led  the  way  down 
to  the  swamp  as  I  told  them  to  do,  and  showed  me  all  the 
trees  they  had  cut.  It  was  heartrending  to  see  the  havoc 
they  had  wrought,  and  which  nothing  could  undo.  It  took 
away  my  breath  almost  for  a  time,  and  I  felt  almost  as  though 
I  had  been  wrong  not  to  proceed  against  these  men  and  have 
them  brought  to  justice.  I  knew  perfectly  I  would  get  no 
money  to  speak  of  from  them. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  267 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  watch  the  woodland  and  swamp 
myself  —  if  there  is  no  one  to  see  after  my  interest  there  it  is 
indeed  hopeless.  Bonaparte  used  to  do  it,  but  now  he  seems 
to  have  been  intimidated  in  some  way,  and  will  not  undertake 
to  see  after  it  at  all. 

December  14. 

It  poured  heavily  all  day.  At  1  o'clock  they  came  in  to 
say  the  wagon  had  come  for  the  cotton.  Of  course  I  could 
not  send  it  in  the  rain,  and  I  had  to  send  the  man  back.  He 
was  very  wet  and  cold  and  I  gave  him  some  potato  pudding 
and  milk,  all  that  was  ready.  The  gin  is  about  twelve  miles 
away  and  I  had  engaged  them  to  send  for  my  cotton  to-day. 
It  was  folly  to  send  in  the  rain.  Still  I  suppose  I  will  have  to 
pay  for  it. 

Chloe  went  to  St.  Cyprian's  last  night  and  had  much  to  tell 
of  the  service  and  her  approval  of  the  sermon.  She  said 
Mr.  G.  was  "a  good  preacher  en  preached  de  pure  gospel." 
She  told  me  she  had  walked  back  with  old  Anthony  and  that 
he  praised  the  sermon  and  then  told  her  of  his  dissatisfaction 
with  his  minister,  a  Baptist.     She  said  :  — 

"Br'er  Tinny  say,  him  don'  like  de  preacher  dem  got ;  say 
dem  ax  de  man  fo'  preach  out  to  Tolson  village,  en  as  him  had 
to  cum  clean  f'um  Gregory  ebrybody  carry  'nuf  money  for 
t'row  een,  but  w'en  him  beggin  fo'  preach  dem  fin'  him  preach 
politiks,  en  slur,  en  Latin,  en  dem  'ordn't  t'row  een  dem 
money,  en  de  man  neber  git  but  one  dollar  en  a  half  f'um  dat 
big  crowd  o'  people." 

"Well,  Chloe,  you  will  have  to  tell  me  what  preaching 
'slur'  means." 

"Miss  Pashuns,  dat  mean  him  hoi'  up  him  perfesshun 
high,  en  him  scandalize  all  dem  oder  Christianity,  en  dat  mek 
dem  feel  shame  en  dem  didn't  like  dat.  Him  bin  a  Babtist, 
yu  see,  en  de  chutch  bin  full  o'  Methodist." 

"Oh,  I  understand  now.  That  was  very  bad  indeed; 
now  tell  me  what  does  preaching  politics  mean?" 


268  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"Dat  mean  stid  o'  preach  de  gospel  of  de  Lord,  him  bin 
a  talk  'bout  de  State  en  de  law,  en  de  guberment,  en  'e  got 
clem  all  tangle  up  en  clem  mind." 

"They  certainly  showed  their  sense,  Chloe,  when  they 
objected  to  that,  for  they  went  to  church  for  heavenly  in- 
struction;    but  tell  me  what  preaching  Latin  meant." 

Chloe  seemed  to  be  a  little  tired  of  my  questions  and  to 
think  me  dull,  which  is  not  my  ordinary  trouble,  but  she  ex- 
plained :  — 

"Well,  Miss  Pashuns,  yu  kno'  'tain't  ebrybody  kin  onder- 
stan' Latin,  en  w'en  dis  man  kum  to  a  place  wey  him  hab 
nuthin'  sensible  fer  said,  him  sta'at  fu'  ramble  een  a  kin'  o' 
gibbish  en  nobody  c'udn't  onderstan',  en  de  man's  self  c'udn't 
onderstan'.  Bre'r  Tinny  say  you  c'ud  look  een  'e  eye  en 
see  him  jes'  bin'a  wander.  Him  didn't  hab  nuthin'  fu'  say; 
so  him  didn't  t'row  een  him  money,  en  say  w'en  he  yeddy  * 
Animus  Brown  is  fu'  preech  him  stay  home." 

I  was  quite  amazed  that  little  old  man  Tinny  should  have 
such  power  of  discernment,  and  also  such  apt  terms  to  de- 
scribe and  size  up  his  preacher,  and  I  was  truly  thankful  he 
recognized  the  difference  in  Mr.  G.'s  doctrine  and  methods. 

The  darkies  have  a  wonderfully  keen  insight  into  character. 
It  is  almost  as  if  by  instinct  they  know  the  genuine  article 
from  the  imitation,  the  gilt  from  the  gold.  When  you  look 
at  Anthony  you  would  not  think  he  knew  anything  more  than 
a  sparrow  sees  with  its  beady  black  eyes.  He  is  very  dried 
up  and  little,  with  those  very  same  beady  eyes.  I  think  a 
great  deal  of  the  old  man ;  he  makes  me  a  present  of  a  huge 
pumpkin  every  year,  and  after  many  efforts  to  find  out  what 
he  would  like  in  return  I  make  my  present. 

Sometimes  I  am  baffled  as  to  what  he  would  like  and  give 
him  money.     If  I  do  this,  the  very  next  day  he  hangs  his 

*"Yedde"  means  to  hear  in  real  gullah,  which  some  of  the  old  darkies 
still  use. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  269 

shoes  on  a  stick  over  his  shoulder  and  walks  down  to  Gregory, 
fourteen  miles  away,  invests  his  cash  in  firewater  and  walks 
back  home,  all  with  a  little  shuffling  gait  which  makes  it  hard 
to  believe  he  could  walk  twenty-eight  miles  a  day. 

December  18. 
This  afternoon  Gibbie  came  to  say  that  his  mother  was 
very  low  and  so  he  would  not  be  able  to  milk,  so  I  took 
Goliah  to  the  cow  stable  to  help  Bonaparte  milk  and  then  to 
put  up  the  horses.  Many  little  negroes  of  Goliah's  size  are 
good  milkers,  but  he  has  no  skill  in  that  line  at  all,  though  he 
is  remarkably  clever  and  useful  with  horses. 

December  19. 
Both  yesterday  and  to-day  I  got  up  very  early  and  went 
out  to  the  stable  to  help  Bonaparte.  It  is  very  provoking 
of  Gibbie  to  absent  himself  in  this  way,  for  I  find  he  is  not 
waiting  on  his  mother,  who  has  her  husband  and  three  other 
sons  and  their  wives  devoted  in  their  services,  while  Gibbie 

is  just  idling  along  the  roads. 

December  20. 

A  perfect  day,  the  air  warm  and  balmy.  On  my  way  home 
from  church  heard  of  Eva's  death.  She  was  a  simple,  faith- 
ful soul,  always  diligent,  working  hard  in  her  large  field 
around  her  house  and  giving  freely  of  the  produce  to  her  five 
sons,  four  of  whom  have  families,  but  none  of  them  has  in- 
herited her  working,  faithful  nature.     I  will  miss  her  greatly. 

I  had  a  good  attendance  of  darkies  at  Sunday-school  this 
afternoon.  I  was  so  pleased  to  see  the  children  all  so  clean 
and  nicely  dressed,  and  they  behaved  so  well.  There  were 
fourteen  girls  and  fifteen  boys,  most  of  them  between  10 
and  14  years  of  age.  After  they  have  gone  over  the 
Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Commandments 
several  times,  with  explanatory  remarks  from  me,  they  repeat 
after  me  a  hymn,  this  time:    "While  Shepherds  Watched 


270 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


Their  Flocks  by  Night,"  preparatory  to  Christmas.  Then 
I  go  in  to  the  piano  and  have  the  girls  in  the  room,  while  the 
boys  stand  by  the  window ;  and  they  all  sing  a  faire  penr. 

They  enjoy  it  so  that  their  whole  strength  is  put  into  sound. 
In  vain  I  listen  for  the  sweet  voices  I  have  heard  in  times  past 


^ 


She  was  a  simple,  faithful  soul  —  always  diligent. 

—  this  is  all  volume  without  sweetness  —  and  I  fear  I  will 
crack  my  own  throat  in  my  efforts  to  guide  the  volume  aright. 
"Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul,"  they  know  pretty  well,  also 
"Onward,  Christian  Soldiers." 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  271 

After  four  hymns  they  stand  in  order  of  size  in  the  piazza 
and  I  hand  around  two  pounds  of  candy,  which  just  gives 
each  child  a  stick,  and  they  depart.  But  to-day  little  fellows 
shot  out  from  the  row  and  four  with  much  serious  unwrapping 
of  handkerchiefs  handed  me  each  an  egg.  I  was  much  sur- 
prised and  thanked  them  with  effusion. 

They  come  every  Sunday  before  I  have  finished  my  dinner, 
greatly  to  Don's  indignation ;  any  arrival  at  meal-times  is 
displeasing  to  him,  and  for  fear  he  will  frighten  the  children 
I  have  him  chained  as  soon  as  I  come  from  church  on  Sunday. 
These  children  are  all  grandchildren  of  those  who  belonged 
to  my  father. 

December  21. 

Bagging  rough  rice  in  the  barn  all  day.  It  is  very  cold  and 
dusty.  I  have  most  unexpectedly  sold  this  rice  for  a  dollar 
a  bushel,  and  instead  of  being  full  of  thankfulness,  my  poor 
human  nature  is  lamenting  over  the  600  bushels  which  I  have 
fed  to  my  creatures  all  summer,  and  let  the  hands  have  when- 
ever they  wanted  it  for  forty  cents  a  bushel,  and  thinking  how 
rich  I  would  be  if  I  had  it  here  now.  I  cannot  get  the  rice 
from  this  year's  crop  threshed,  little  as  it  is,  because  it  seems 
impossible  to  get  any  one  to  work  the  boiler. 

December  24. 

Very  busy  putting  up  a  parcel  to  send  to  Dab's  little  brother 
Rab  who  is,  I  hope,  being  made  over  into  a  very  good  boy  by 
the  worthy  Jenkins.  The  parcel  contained  only  a  suit  of 
clothes,  caps,  suspenders,  and  necessary  underclothing,  but 
I  wanted  it  to  reach  him  on  Christmas.  To  my  intense 
regret  I  could  not  put  even  a  nickel  in  the  pocket.  I  gener- 
ally put  a  quarter  and  I  know  he  will  search  every  corner. 

The  mail  brought  packages  with  loving  offerings  from  my 
dear  ones.  I  had  not  the  heart  to  accept  the  many  invita- 
tions I  had  to  spend  Christmas,  and  so  I  am  alone  and  have 


272 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


time  to  realize  the  one  great  Christmas  gift  made  to  our 
humanity  once  for  all  time.  This  evening  I  sent  by  Gibbie 
a  little  package  of  good  things  to  each  darky  child  on  the 
place. 

Christmas  Day. 

I  sat  up  until  1  o'clock  last  night  rummaging  through  my 
possessions  to  find  presents  for  the  servants.     I  cannot  bear 


<*& 


"-■': 


:V„ 


fafi&&&i&\ 


Winnowing  house  for  preparation  of  seed  rice. 

to  have  nothing  for  them,  but  my  dear  father's  constant  in- 
junction, "Be  just  before  you  are  generous,"  is  indelibly 
impressed  upon  me.  I  owe  money  to  several  and  so  I  have 
not  been  willing  to  spend  even  a  quarter  on  Christmas  prep- 
arations. 

All  the  grown  servants  have  gone  to  the  "setting  up," 
which  is  one  of  the  strongest  articles  of  their  creed  and  is 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  273 

very  impressive,  I  think  —  the  feeling  that  they  must  not  be 
found  in  their  beds  on  this  mysterious  night  when  the  King 
of  the  world  was  born  and  laid  in  a  manger.  A  feeble  old 
woman  with  whom  I  remonstrated,  telling  her  she  was  not 
strong  enough  to  sit  up  all  night,  turned  on  me  in  indignation, 
saying  :  "Miss,  yo'  t'ink  I  'ood  let  de  Lawd  ketch  me  in  baid 
to-night  w'en  de  bery  cow  fall  on  dey  knee !  No,  ma'am, 
dis  night  is  fer  pray,  en  shout,  en  rej'ice." 

My  packages  yesterday  contained  six  boxes  of  candy,  four 
of  them  the  most  delicious  home-made  nut  candy  of  different 
kinds.  I  had  two  pounds  of  common  stick  candy  in  the  house, 
and  after  getting  up  some  ancient  silk  things,  I  found  five 
boxes  to  fill,  one  for  each  servant ;  the  stick  candy  in  the 
bottom,  and  some  of  my  delicious  things  out  of  my  recent 
presents  to  fill  up. 

I  was  so  in  earnest  searching  in  the  garret  for  empty  boxes 
by  the  light  of  a  dim  lantern  that  I  did  not  notice  what  labels 
they  bore  until  I  had  filled  the  five  and  put  a  Christmas  card 
on  top  of  each  and  put  the  covers  on.  Then  I  laughed  until 
I  cried.  The  largest,  which  I  had  put  particularly  nice 
things  in,  was  labelled  "Finest  mourning  paper"  and  had 
great  black  bands  all  around.  The  next  was  labelled  "Best 
carbolic  soap,"  and  the  others  were  also  soap  boxes.  It  was 
too  late  to  take  out  all  the  carefully  arranged  contents  and 
begin  over,  so  I  tied  them  up  with  ribbon  and  put  two  apples 
on  each  so  that  they  would  be  on  hand  when  I  heard  the  call : 
"Merry  Christmas  !"   at  my  door  in  the  early  morning. 

In  the  olden  time  there  used  to  be  such  crowds  coming 
in  to  the  upstairs  hall  to  wish  the  Merry  Christmas,  and  one 
must  have  a  gift  for  each.  Long  after  the  war  they  kept  it 
up,  and  I  used  to  have  a  hamper  of  little  gifts  all  wrapped  to 
pitch  out  of  the  door  as  I  heard  each  voice.  Now  I  had  only 
Chloe,  Dab,  Betty,  Bonaparte,  and  Gibbie  to  provide  for. 
I  put  up  little  packages  for  old  Katie  and  all  the  old  darkies 


274  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

who  come  to  the  yard  to  wish  us  Merry  Christmas  and  bring 
an  egg  or  two  and  receive  their  Christmas. 

This  is  a  survival  of  the  past,  when  every  negro  on  the 
plantation  came  soon  after  daylight  Christmas  morning,  to 
give  their  good  wishes  and  to  receive  substantial  gifts  them- 
selves. They  always  had  three  days  of  entire  holiday,  during 
which  they  amused  themselves,  always  ending  the  day  by  two 
hours'  dancing  on  the  piazza  of  the  "big  house"  to  the  music  of 
fiddle,  tambourine,  bones,  drum,  and  sticks.  My  father  sent 
off  young  lads  to  learn  to  play  the  violin  every  year,  so  that 
there  were  always  one  or  two  capable  of  leading. 

The  way  in  which  they  mark  time  with  the  sticks  has  al- 
ways been  a  wonder  to  me.  They  beat  them  in  syncopated 
time,  the  accent  always  being  on  the  second  beat.  I  have 
tried  in  vain  to  get  the  motion,  and  yet  very  little  children  do 
it  in  perfect  time. 

I  drove  to  church  thinking  of  all  the  nice  things  I  would 
like  to  be  carrying  to  my  friends  in  the  dear  little  settlement 
who  all  sent  me  some  charming  token  of  affection  and  good- 
will. Only  three  or  four  assembled  and  the  holly  filled  font 
was  the  only  sign  of  the  great  festival.  Our  organist  was  not 
there,  so  that  I  knew  I  would  have  to  "raise"  the  hymn  — 
that  means  stand  up  in  your  pew  and  sing  it  without  ac- 
companiment. 

What  was  my  dismay  when  "Shout  the  Glad  Tidings, 
Exultingly  Sing,"  was  given  out.  There  is  but  one  tune  that 
I  ever  heard  to  it,  and  that  is  most  elaborate.  However,  it 
is  the  forlorn  hope  that  rouses  and  appeals  to  me.  I  rose  to 
my  feet  and  the  occasion,  and  the  glad  tidings  were  shouted 
most  enthusiastically  by  one  feeble  voice.  Only  at  the 
chorus  Miss  Pandora  gave  the  support  of  her  voice.  It  is 
pleasant  to  remember  that  the  Good  Maker  of  all,  does  not 
have  to  listen ;  he  looks  within  and  sees  the  spirit  which  im- 
pels those  inadequate  sounds. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  275 

I  came  away  from  the  simple  service  in  high  spirits,  all 
my  depression  and  discouragement  floated  upward  in  the 
quavering  shouts  of  glad  tidings. 

December  26. 

Rode  out  to  the  post-office  on  horseback  and  enjoyed  it 
immensely.  Got  a  charming  book  there.  I  have  had  so 
many  dear  little  presents,  the  most  valuable  being  a  pair  of 
driving  gloves,  which  have  delighted  me. 

December  27. 

Started  to  church  this  morning  with  Ruth  in  the  buckboard 
and  found  her  dead  lame  !  Had  to  turn  and  have  Dab  get 
Romola  out  of  the  field  and  put  her  in. 

I  am  worried  because  the  stable  door  is  off  its  hinges,  and 
it  is  strange  Gibbie  should  not  have  reported  it  yesterday, 
for  Bonaparte  could  have  fixed  it  in  five  minutes.  I  used 
Ruth  Friday  and  she  was  quite  well.  I  fear  she  has  been 
ridden  at  night  and  put  her  foot  in  a  hole. 

December  28. 

J.  and  L.  came  Sunday  evening  and  spent  the  night. 
Yesterday  morning  L.,  who  has  made  quite  a  specialty  of 
animal  diseases,  examined  Ruth's  leg  and  foot.  He  said  it 
was  the  hock,  and  he  only  hoped  it  might  not  prove  spavin  — 
said  it  must  be  bathed  twice  a  day  with  hot  mullein  tea  and 
then  rubbed  dry. 

I  begged  him  to  tell  Gibbie  exactly  what  to  do  and  how  to 
do  it,  as  it  would  impress  him  more,  coming  from  him.  So 
he  gave  him  most  careful  instructions  about  it.  This  morn- 
ing at  ten,  when  I  was  rushing  with  some  letters  to  catch  the 
mail  at  the  avenue  gate,  I  saw  Ruth  standing  near  the  back 
door  with  the  long  strong  reins,  which  Jim  made  to  drive  the 
colt,  wrapped  'round  and  'round  a  walnut  tree.  I  was  so 
provoked  that  I  forgot  the  mail  and  addressed  Gibbie,  who 
was  rubbing  Ruth's  leg  and  asked  why  he  had  put  the  head- 


276 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


stall  and  reins  which  had  been  made  for  the  colt  on  Ruth. 
He  answered :  — 

"Jus'  so.  I  had  dem  on  Alcyone  driving  about  in.  Wen 
I  stop  I  put  'em  on  Root." 

"Where  is  Ruth's  halter?"  I  supposed  something  had 
happened  to  it,  but  not  at  all ;  it  was  in  the  stable. 

As  I  saw  the  large  pool  of  water  on  the  ground  and  Ruth's 
leg  rubbed  quite  dry  I  grew  milder  in  my  words  and  simply 
sent  him  to  get  the  halter  and  put  it  on.  Then  I  went  on 
with  the  letters.  As  I  came  back  I  went  into  the  pantry 
where  the  breakfast  things  were  not  yet  washed.  Again 
I  exploded. 

"Why  were  the  cups  and  silver  not  yet  washed?" 
"Gibbie  cum  een  en  say  he  had  o'ders  to  git  all  de  hot 
water  fer  Root  fut,  so  'e  hempty  both  kittle,  en  we  had  to  put 
on  water  fresh  f'r  we,  en  it  ain't  hot  'nuff  yet." 
I  simply  had  to  leave  without  saying  a  word. 

Later  Chloe  sought  me  when  I  had 
just  settled  myself  at  my  desk 
to  write,  and  said  :  — 

"Miss  Pashuns,  all  dat  hot 
water  Gibbie  tek  out  de  two 
kittle  out  de  kitchen,  'e  neber 
put  a  drop  on  Root  fut ! " 

"My,  Chloe!  what  did  he 
do  with  it,  then?" 
"'E  po'  um  right  out  down  on  de  groun'  long  side  a  Root 
een  a  puddle,  en  'e  neber  so  much  as  tech  Root  fut  wid  a  wet 
clot'.     'E  rub  um  wid  a  dry  rag." 

I  cast  my  mind  back  and  remembered  how  very  dry  Ruth's 
leg  was,  and  how  pleased  I  was  that  Gibbie  should  have  rubbed 
her  so  well ;  but  still  I  could  scarcely  believe  that  he  had 
poured  all  that  hot  water  on  the  ground.  While  I  was  con- 
sidering, Chloe  went  on  :  — 


"  Patty  en  Dab  en  me  all  bin  a 
eat." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  277 

"  'Tain't  me  one  see  um.  Patty  en  Dab  en  me  all  bin  a  eat 
we  break-us  en  we  set  down  right  dey,  en  luk  at  Gibbie  when 
'e  pou'  out  de  watah  'pun  de  groun'." 

What  a  farce  to  try  to  have  anything  done  at  all !  I  did  not 
say  a  word  to  Gibbie  about  this.  He  would  simply  swear  it 
was  not  so  and  there  would  be  a  state  of  warfare  in  the  yard. 

I  sent  for  him  that  afternoon  and  told  him  to  fill  a  big  pot 

in  the  yard  with  water,  get  some  mullein  leaves  and  put  in  it, 

make  a  fire  under  the  pot  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  and 

after  cleaning  his  horses  to  bring  Ruth  out  and  let  me  know, 

as  I  wished  to  bathe  her  myself. 

Cherokee,  December  29. 

Jim  is  not  coming  back ;  his  month  with  me  is  up,  and  he 
has  work  in  Gregory.  Now  the  question  is  either  to  give  up 
all  the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  Marietta's  training 
or  to  drive  her  myself. 

I  have  always  been  afraid  of  a  skeleton  road  cart,  and  I 
confess  I  dread  driving  in  one.  I  asked  Jim  before  he  went 
one  day  if  he  could  not  try  her  in  the  old  buckboard,  which  is 
very  light.  He  said  by  no  means,  that  she  wheeled  square 
round  at  any  new  thing  she  saw,  and  would  break  the  shafts 
at  once. 

To-day  I  had  Romola  put  in  the  road  cart  for  me  to  try  it, 
and  drove  eight  miles.  The  seat  is  just  an  unusually  hard 
board,  and  I  knew  that  the  least  thing  would  make  me  pitch 
out.  When  I  got  back  I  called  Bonaparte  and  had  him  take 
off  the  board  and  put  some  strong  wide  pieces  of  leather  across 
and  then  tack  a  sheepskin  on  top,  and  I  will  try  it  to-morrow. 

Then  I  told  him  I  wanted  a  small  seat  secured  to  the  axle 
at  the  back  so  that  Gibbie  could  sit  there.  Bonaparte  in- 
dicated that  ordinarily  he  found  my  plans  intelligent,  but  that 
in  this  instance  he  failed  to  see  any  sign  of  common  sense. 
It  was  all  in  civil,  even  courtly,  language,  but  the  meaning 
was  plain.     I  was  not  daunted.     I  said  :  — 


278  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"  I  cannot  go  out  alone  with  that  colt.  I  must  have  Gibbie 
at  hand,  and  the  only  way  to  take  him  is  to  rig  up  such  a 
seat,  and  I  trust  to  your  cleverness  and  skill  to  do  it." 

I  got  a  very  strong  chair  of  white  oak  and  had  him  saw  off 
the  back.  "Now  this  is  what  I  want  you  to  use,  and  I  want 
you  to  put  it  here,"  I  said.     Then  I  left  him. 

December  30. 

This  morning  when  I  went  to  look  at  the  progress  of  the 
little  shelf  behind  the  road  cart,  I  found  Bonaparte  working 
with  enthusiasm.  The  idea  had  suddenly  taken  him,  but 
Gibbie  was  looking  on  with  a  face  of  woe,  muttering  steadily 
"risk  my  life  —  got  wife  and  chillun  —  brek  me  neck"  — 
I  could  only  hear  a  word  here  and  there. 

"Gibbie,"  I  said,  "how  many  times  were  you  thrown  out 
of  the  road  cart  when  Jim  and  you  went  with  Marietta?" 

"Only  fo'  time." 

"Where  did  you  sit?" 

"Jim  en  me  set  on  de  seat ;  each  one  had  a  fut  on  de  step 
so  we  could  jump  quick." 

"Did  Jim  jump  out?" 

"Jim  jump  out  'eself  ebery  time  we  meet  buggy,  dat  colt 
wunt  pass  a  buggy,  en  de  las'  wud  Jim  say  to  me  was,  'Fo' 
King  sake  Gib  neber  let  urn  meet  a  w'ite  hoss,  kase  'e'll 
bruk  up  eberyt'ing.'  " 

"Well,"  I  said,  "now  you  will  be  perfectly  safe  behind 
here,  for  when  anything  happens  you  can  step  off  without 
any  trouble." 

But  Gibbie  continued  to  grumble  and  mutter.  As  soon 
as  the  extraordinary  little  perch  was  adjusted  I  made  him 
put  Romola  in  the  cart  and  took  him  behind  for  a  six-mile 
drive.  He  nearly  refused  to  go,  but  I  kept  my  eye  on  him, 
and  we  started. 

We  had  not  driven  out  of  the  front  gate  before  I  heard  sounds 
of  satisfaction  from  behind  —  little  grunts  only  at  first,  but 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  279 

at  last  he  burst  into  speech.  "My  law,  Miss  Pashuns,  you 
hav  a  good  idea  w'en  yu  fix  dis  seat!  I  too  cumfutable  !  Jes' 
es  easy  es  if  I  bin  home  een  me  rockin'  chai'.  Dis'  de  t'ing 
fo'  me."  I  was  greatly  relieved,  for  as  Gibbie  has  been  going 
with  Jim  every  day,  with  Marietta,  it  is  important  he  should 
go  along  with  me.  One  change  at  a  time  is  enough  and  I 
cannot  let  him  drive,  because  he  has  such  a  heavy  hand, 
accustomed  to  handle  oxen,  but  I  could  not  take  him  if  he 
was  afraid  or  unwilling. 

I  was  equally  delighted  with  my  seat,  for  the  sheepskin 
made  all  the  difference ;  one  could  sit  home  as  on  a  saddle. 
I  did  not  think  the  cart  balanced  just  as  I  wished,  however, 
and  when  I  got  home  I  told  Bonaparte  to  get  a  heavy  piece 
of  iron  from  the  old  mill  and  fasten  it  where  the  dash-board 
is  in  a  buggy ;  this  cart  has  none.  He  did  this  and  I  got  in 
and  made  Gibbie  get  behind  while  Bonaparte  steadied  the 
shafts  and  they  stood  level  without  his  holding  them.  Then 
I  was  satisfied.  Everything  is  ready  now  and  to-morrow 
I  will  drive  Marietta. 

All  the  neighbors  are  making  an  outcry  about  it  and  my 
dear  friend  Miss  N.  to-day  said  all  that  could  possibly  be 
said  to  deter  me,  but  I  cannot  see  it  as  they  do.  My  taxes 
are  $100 ;  they  are  due  now.  If  nothing  turns  up  I  must 
sell  something  to  pay  them.  Last  year  I  sold  a  colt  for  that 
purpose.  Now  Marietta  unbroken  would  not  be  salable, 
but  broken  she  would  bring  a  good  price. 

It  will  be  a  heartbreaking  business  to  part  with  her.  She 
is  exactly  like  her  mother  and  they  would  be  a  delightful  pair, 
but  I  must  try  and  get  her  broken  if  I  can.  She  has  made 
good  progress  in  a  month,  I  think,  for  she  was  not  even  halter 
broken  the  first  of  December. 

December  31. 

Started  with  Marietta  at  12:25  to-day  and  drove  eight 
miles,  getting  back  at  1 :  35.     It  was  truly  exciting,  but  she 


280  A    WOMAN   BICE  PLANTER 

went  wonderfully.  All  the  way  to  Peaceville  we  were  so 
fortunate  as  not  to  meet  a  vehicle  on  the  road.  Coming 
back  a  buggy  turned  into  the  narrow  road  ahead.  I  waved 
to  the  man  to  turn  back,  but  he  did  not  understand,  for  I 
would  not  speak  to  let  Marietta  know  I  was  telling  him  to 
go  back ;  but  as  soon  as  she  saw  him  she  made  herself  im- 
mense, and  began  to  trumpet  like  an  elephant,  standing  stock 
still. 

The  man  needed  no  suggestion  after  seeing  and  hearing 
her,  and  rapidly  got  out  and  lifted  his  buggy  around  and 
fled  into  another  road.  After  a  while  she  quieted  down  and 
we  went  on.  It  is  a  great  pity  to  have  such  a  road ;  it  is 
barely  wide  enough  for  two  vehicles  to  pass  and  there  is  a 
deep  ditch  on  each  side. 

We  had  gone  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  after  this  and  she 
had  steadied  into  a  quiet  trot,  when  two  dogs,  one  white  and 
one  black,  dashed  from  a  house  about  500  yards  from  the  road, 
and  rushed  toward  us,  barking  furiously.  This  was  too  much. 
She  started  at  a  full  run  and  all  my  effort  was  directed  to 
keeping  her  in  the  road,  for  those  deep  ditches  so  near  on  each 
side  were  a  terror. 

I  talked  to  her  as  I  put  out  my  whole  strength  on  the  reins. 
I  felt  I  could  not  stand  it  much  longer,  my  arms  were  giving 
way  and  I  wondered  whether  Gibbie  was  thrown  off  and  what 
would  be  the  end,  when  she  slacked  her  speed  and  finally 
came  down  into  a  trot.     Then  I  called  to  Gibbie. 

He  is  stone  deaf,  which  makes  a  difficulty,  and  I  was  too 
shaken  and  stiff  to  be  able  to  turn  around  to  look ;  but  when 
at  last  he  heard  he  answered  with  cheerful  equanimity. 
Having  once  given  me  his  faith,  Gibbie  did  not  appear  to 
have  the  least  anxiety. 

My  heart  was  filled  with  thanksgiving  as  I  stepped  down 
from  the  funny  little  cart  at  the  stable  door,  Marietta  dripping 
with  sweat  and  blood  streaming  from  each  side  of  her  mouth, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  281 

but  turning  around  to  see  what  I  had  for  her  with  a  look  of 
affection.  I  always  gave  Ruth  a  lump  of  sugar  when  she  had 
been  good,  but  this  poor  dear  little  hard  times  thing  won't 
take  sugar  nor  apple  nor  carrot  —  no,  nothing  but  an  ear 
of  corn  will  she  take. 

This  is  the  last  night  of  the  old  year.  For  the  first  time 
since  the  tragedy  I  felt  myself  drawn  to  the  piano,  and  I 
played  Chopin's  funeral  march  over  and  over,  with  its  won- 
derful wail  of  sorrow,  and  then  Beethoven's  funeral  march 
on  the  death  of  a  hero.  Such  a  contrast !  No  wail  here. 
Rather  "Gloria  Victor"  :  — 

O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
O  Grave,  where  thy  victory  ? 

The  old  year  is  dead.     God  grant  us  grace  in  the  new. 


CHAPTER  IX 

January  1. 

THE  new  year  ought  to  fill  one  with  bright  anticipations 
and  hopes,  but  somehow  I  am  so  weighed  down  by- 
realities,  in  the  shape   of   bills    and    accounts  which 
should  be  paid  and  for  which  I  see  no  wherewithal,  that  my 
horizon  seems  dark  and  cloud-capped.     I  try  to  keep  myself 
hard  at  work,  as  that  is  the  only  way  to  get  rid  of  anxiety. 

I  am  having  wool  washed  to  make  a  mattress,  as  I  need  a 
nice  single  mattress,  and  the  only  way  to  get  it  at  this  moment 
is  to  make  it.     Chloe  and  Patty  are  to  wash  it  to-morrow. 

January  2. 

Drove  Marietta  this  morning  for  the  second  time.  Jim 
always  walked  behind  driving  with  long  reins,  while  Gibbie 
led  her  as  far  as  the  front  gate,  so  I  followed  his  example  and 
drove  from  behind  until  we  got  into  the  public  road,  when  I 
got  in.  She  fought  a  little,  but  went  beautifully  when  once 
we  were  started. 

I  wanted  to  go  to  the  post-office  in  Peaceville  but  did  not 
wish  to  stop  there,  as  we  did  that  the  last  time,  and  with 
a  colt  it  is  so  important  not  to  let  it  form  a  habit  of  stopping 
at  any  one  place.  So  I  drove  all  the  way  up  the  village  to 
the  last  house,  and  turning  there  came  back  to  the  post-office. 
Alack  and  alas  !  it  was  closed.  If  only  I  had  stopped  on  the 
way  up  I  would  have  got  my  mail,  and  I  was  hoping  for  a 
valuable  letter.  While  I  stopped  talking,  asking  if  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  have  the  office  opened  for  a  moment,  one 
of  my  dear  Sunday-school  boys  galloped  by  on  horseback, 
followed  by  his  black  dog. 

Marietta  just  made  up  her  mind  to  get  rid  of  all  impedi- 

282 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  283 

merits  and  pursue  them,  especially  the  dog.  She  reared, 
she  plunged,  she  bucked,  she  whirled,  she  stood  so  long  on 
her  hind  legs  pawing  the  air  that  I  thought  she  must  fall 
back  on  me.  Gibbie,  however,  held  on  to  her  manfully, 
although  nearly  lifted  from  the  ground.  Mr.  R.  was  so  ex- 
cited that  he  jumped  the  high  paling  fence  to  come  to  my 
assistance,  but  there  was  nothing  he  could  do.  However, 
I  was  glad  of  his  suggestion,  made  in  his  deliberate  way : 
"I  would  turn  her  head  the  other  way,"  which  advice  I  gladly 
followed  and  drove  rapidly  up  the  village  for  the  second  time 
and  on  in  that  direction  until  she  was  somewhat  quiet  and  then 
turned  homeward,  trusting  Fred  and  his  black  dog  had  gone  a 
long  distance  and  would  not  return  until  I  was  safely  at  home. 

One  dangerous  spot  after  another  was  passed  and  I  began 
to  breathe  more  freely  when,  as  I  reached  the  Clay  gully, 
I  saw  in  the  distance  the  galloping  horse  and  frisking  black 
dog  approaching.  My  heart  was  in  my  mouth,  but  I  make 
it  a  rule  never  to  call  out  in  an  alarmed  tone,  as  a  horse  is  so 
sensitive  to  the  driver's  feelings.  I  had  taken  her  around  a 
little  side  cut  she  was  unaccustomed  to  so  that  she  was  so 
busy  examining  every  root  and  stump  that  she  did  not  see 
the  approaching  party.  To  my  great  relief  Fred  saw  us, 
and  with  wonderful  presence  of  mind  called  his  dog,  which 
had  nearly  reached  us,  and  rode  rapidly  off  in  another  direc- 
tion. I  was  very  thankful,  and  greatly  pleased  at  the  boy's 
prompt  thought  and  action. 

Got  home  without  further  trouble  and  did  not  give  poor 
little  Marietta  the  reward  she  was  expecting  —  two  quarts 
of  oats.  Gibbie  was  indignant  at  this  and  proceeded  to  argue 
with  me,  but  I  was  firm  and  told  him  Marietta  would  under- 
stand perfectly. 

January  6. 

Have  had  the  great  privilege  and  pleasure  of  having  our 
Bishop  as  my  guest,  on  his  pastoral  visit  to  our  struggling 


284  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

little  parish.     The  Bishop's  visit  is  always  a  season  of  uplift 
and  thankfulness. 

January  7. 

Drove  Marietta  to-day,  and  though  she  was  nervous  at 
first  and  it  was  hard  for  me  to  get  in  the  road  cart,  she  soon 
quieted  down  and  went  eight  miles  without  any  excitement, 
so  that  I  had  the  pleasure  of  giving  her  the  two  quarts  of  oats 
mixed  with  soda  and  hot  water  which  is  the  reward  of  merit. 

Friday,  January  8. 

This  morning  I  told  Gibbie  that  we  would  drive  down  the 
road,  as  we  have  been  up  so  often,  because  the  bridge  a  short 
distance  below  has  been  undergoing  repairs.  Marietta  went 
very  quietly  until  we  got  out  of  the  gate  and  turned  her  head 
down  the  road  and  I  got  in  —  then  she  wheeled  sharp  around 
and  reared  until  I  thought  she  must  fall  back  —  she  plunged, 
she  squatted  until  she  broke  up  the  harness  entirely.  Gibbie 
lost  his  nerve  and  instead  of  holding  her  by  the  bit,  as  he  did 
the  last  time  she  fought,,  he  held  the  end  of  a  six  foot  halter, 
so  that  he  had  no  power  over  her  and  was  in  danger  of  being 
pawed. 

I  held  on  to  the  reins,  fortunately.  She  turned  herself 
around  in  the  shafts,  having  broken  girth  and  crupper,  until 
she  faced  me,  and  as  I  kept  my  tight  grip  on  the  reins  she  was 
nearly  choked.  Purposely  I  pulled  tighter  and  tighter,  and 
when  she  found  herself  entirely  tied  up  in  the  harness  and 
choking  she  was  quiet  and  stood  without  moving  while 
Gibbie  and  Bonaparte  took  off  the  remnants  of  the  harness. 
Fortunately  the  head-stall  and  reins  were  strong  and  held. 
I  found  there  was  no  hope  of  putting  her  back  in  the  cart, 
as  it  would  take  days  to  patch  up  the  harness,  so  I  told  Gibbie 
I  would  drive  her  down  the  road  without  any  vehicle,  he 
leading  and  I  holding  the  reins  behind.  We  had  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  get  her  started  down  the  road,  but  she  went 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  285 

after  a  while  quietly  enough  until  we  came  to  the  bridge, 
where  she  made  a  tremendous  fight.  When  I  was  worn  out 
with  her  wheeling  and  fighting  I  gave  the  lines  to  Gibbie 
and  told  him  to  stand  perfectly  still,  not  make  any  effort  to 
get  her  over,  but  if  she  started  to  go,  to  follow  her.  Then  I 
went  across  and  stood  a  short  distance  from  the  bridge  and 
willed  her  to  come  over,  putting  all  my  strength  into  the  will. 
She  put  one  foot  slowly  forward  and  then  the  other,  appar- 
ently with  the  greatest  reluctance,  but  once  started  she  came 
straight  to  me,  and  then  I  took  the  lines  and  drove  her  three 
miles.  She  was  just  as  quiet  and  docile  as  though  she  had 
never  fought.  She  walked  so  rapidly,  however,  dragging 
me  along  at  a  most  unusual  pace  for  me,  that  I  was  completely 
exhausted  when  we  got  home. 

January  8. 

Started  on  mattress  about  10  o'clock  and  worked  steadily 
until  I  finished  it  at  midnight.  I  made  the  tick  on  the 
machine  just  after  breakfast  and  then  had  Bonaparte  make 
me  a  frame  just  the  size  of  the  spring  I  wanted  the  mattress 
to  fit.  This  was  not  finished  until  10  and  I  was  very  much 
afraid  I  would  not  be  able  to  finish,  but  I  did  by  working, 
with  only  half  an  hour  for  dinner.  I  get  so  interested  in 
anything  I  am  doing,  it  does  not  matter  what  it  is,  for 
the  moment,  it  is  the  most  engrossing  occupation  in  the 
world.  The  wool  was  beautifully  washed,  which  made  it 
pleasant. 

When  it  came  to  sticking  a  needle  a  foot  long  through 
the  mattress  and  tying  with  twine  I  had  to  get  Jim's  willing 
and  efficient  help,  but  that  was  not  until  after  9  to-night.  I 
am  so  exhilarated  by  the  success  of  my  work  that  I  am 
neither  tired  nor  sleepy  and  have  to  make  myself  stop  work- 
ing and  go  to  bed,  when  I  hope  to  sleep  serenely  "clothed  in 
the  light  of  high  duties  done." 


286  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

January  9. 
Sewed  nearly  all  day,  which  is  a  rare  treat  to  me.  The  wood 
we  are  using  burns  out  so  fast,  that  I  have  been  urging  the 
men  to  cut  enough  logs  from  the  live  oaks  (which  I  have  at 
last  got  sawed  down),  to  give  each  fireplace  a  back  log ;  that 
makes  such  a  difference  in  the  permanence  and  heat  of  the 
fire.  Joe  Keit  said  the  wood  was  too  hard,  might  as  well 
try  to  cut  iron,  and  that  it  would  take  all  day  to  cut  one  log, 
making  it  very  dear  wood.  I  was  provoked,  but  never  hav- 
ing sawed  any  wood  at  all,  I  did  not  know  whether  what  he 
said  was  true  or  not  — ■  that  always  worries  me  —  so  I  put 
down  my  sewing  and  got  the  big  saw  about  4^  feet  long 
with  one  handle,  which  is  comfortable  to  grasp,  and  went 
out  to  the  four  splendid  live  oaks  which  were  killed  in 
the  storm,  whether  by  lightning  or  otherwise  I  don't  know, 
but  they  have  stood  there  in  melancholy  naked  grandeur 
ever  since,  till  this  winter  I  bought  a  fine  cross-cut  saw,  and 
had  Jim  and  Joe  Keit  to  saw  them  down.  It  was  long  and 
laborious,  but  they  had  become  a  menace  to  the  cattle, 
as  the  limbs  rotted  and  fell.  I  selected  a  limb  of  suitable 
height  for  me  to  work  on  and  began  very  awkwardly  to  saw. 
The  cattle  seeing  so  unusual  a  sight  gathered  round  me,  and 
Equinox,  the  bull,  feeling  sure  I  must  be  fixing  food  for 
them,  came  nearer  and  nearer  in  his  investigations,  so  that 
I  was  forced  to  an  ignominious  retreat,  before  I  had  made 
much  progress  on  my  "iron"  limb.  I  was  not  going  to  give 
it  up,  however.  I  went  into  the  next  lot  where  there  was  an 
even  more  indestructible  oak  tree,  which  various  men  at  various 
times  had  refused  to  tackle,  and  began  afresh  with  the  saw. 
I  was  pleased  to  find  myself  already  a  little  handier  and 
worked  with  great  satisfaction.  I  remembered  Dickens' 
"'tis  dogged  does  it"  and  my  spirits  rose  as  I  got  the  knack 
of  drawing  back  the  big  saw.  Jim,  who  was  engaged  in  cut- 
ting limbs  from  a  green  live  oak,  which  is  much  less  tough, 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  287 

and  which  I  disapprove  of  entirely,  some  distance  off,  came  and 

expressed   great  anxiety  lest    I  overexert  myself  and  said, 

"Let  me  finish  it,  Miss  Patience,  you'll  be  here  till  dark," 

but  I  proudly  declined,  and  to  his  and  my  amazement  I  had 

the  back  log  off  in  half  an  hour. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "if  I  who  have  never  handled  a  saw  before 

in  my  life,  can  cut  that  log,  seven  inches  in  diameter,  which 

has  been  here  since  the  storm  of  '93,  and  rings  like  metal 

when  you  strike  it,  in  half  an  hour,  you  and  Joe  Keit  should 

be  able  to  cut  those  logs  of  the  same  size  from  those  oaks 

which  are  rotting  a  little,  in  ten  minutes,  and  by  giving  a 

day  to  it,  the  house  will  be  supplied  with  back   logs  for 

two  months  at  least." 

January  10. 

I  ventured  to  church  in  spite  of  rain  which  did  not  amount 
to  much.  A  little  stiff  and  painful  from  my  prowess  with 
saw  yesterday,  but  would  not  for  worlds  acknowledge  it  to 
any  one.  Had  my  iron  log  brought  in  and  set  up  in  the 
piazza,  and  shall  put  a  geranium  on  it  as  a  pedestal.  I  am 
so  proud  of  it  I  cannot  think  of  burning  it  up. 

I  hear  that  Gibbie  has  moved  off  of  the  place,  has  left 
without  paying  his  rent.  He  came  on  the  16th,  and  paid 
one  dollar  on  his  rent  for  October,  the  rent  being  $1.25  a 
month,  and  he  says  he  gets  one  dollar  a  day  for  his  work. 
He  assured  me  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  pay  more 
until  some  mythical  time  when  he  would  be  paid  off  and  pay 
the  rest  to  date.  Now  he  has  slipped  away  without  paying 
at  all.  I  have  written  to  see  if  I  can  get  it  from  his  em- 
ployer. Now  comes  his  brother  David  to  tell  me  he  is  go- 
ing — ■  he  pays  me  $2.25  which  leaves  $6.50  still  due  me.  I 
made  him  give  me  his  note  payable  by  April  first  for  that. 
I  do  not  doubt  April  first  was  a  most  suitable  date  and  that 
it  will  be  a  proper  celebration  of  the  day  as  April  fool. 
Chloe's  indignation  is  great  for  she  knows  how  often  I  have 


288 


A     WOMAN    RICE    PLANTER 


■i  1(1 


Chloe  began  :  "  Wen  I  bin  a  small  gal. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  289 

helped  them  in  sickness  and  how  patiently  I  have  waited  on 
them.  She  burst  out,  "De  good  yu  do,  de  t'enksyu  git,  how 
yu  help  dem  po'  muclder  tru'  she  long  sickness  an'  tribulation  ! 
but  w'at  better  kin  you  'spec  f'um  run-way  nigger  fam'bly  ?" 
I  seemed  surprised  at  this  and  said,  "What  do  you  mean, 
Chloe?"  "Miss  Pashuns,  you  don'  know  dem  kum  frum 
run- way  nigger  fam'bly?" 

"No,"  I  answered,  "  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing." 
"Well,  den,  I'll  tell  you.  W'en  I  bin  a  small  gal,  bin  a 
min'  chill'un  ne*  street,  my  grandpa  Moses  bin  one  o'  ole 
Maussa  fo'man  —  him  had  one  gang  o'  twenty  man,  en  Daddy 
Sam,  Bonapaa't  pa,  had  de  oder  gang,  en  clem  uster  bery 
proud  o'  dem  gang,  en  dem  gang  used  to  run  race  fo'  wuk. 
Well,  my  grandpa  had  Gibbie  grandpa  een  him  gang  —  'e 
name  was  Able,  but  Able  neber  love  wuk  —  soon  as  de 
springtime  cum  en  dem  biggin  fo'  staat  for  plant  crap,  Able 
n'used  to  run  way ;  ebery  year  de  same  t'ing  —  en  dat  used 
to  mek  de  gang  mad,  kase  dem  had  for  du  him  wuk.  You 
onderstan ',  Miss  Patience,  dem  had  to  share  him  task  between 
dem,  fu'  extry.  One  time  Able  bin  gone  six  mont'  —  de 
'hole  summa'  en  Maussa  bin  a  fret,  say  somet'ing  mus'  be 
happen  to  Able,  'kase  him  always  did  cum  home  befo'  col' 
wedder  en  now  de  wuk  all  dun,  en  de  tetta  dun  dig  een,  en 
we  de  fix  fu'  winta!  One  day  de  chill'un  bin  a  play  in  de 
street  en  Able  gal  com  on  contac'  wid  anoda'  gal,  en  dem 
bigin  fu'  sass  one  nudda.  De  oda  gal  say,  Tse  betta'n  yu 
any  way.  I'se  got  Pa,  en  yu  ain'  got  no  Pa.'  Den  Able 
gal  mek  answa,  '  I  is  got  Pa.'  De  oda  gal  say,  'How  cum 
nobody  see  yu  Pa?  No,  yu  ain't  got  no  Pa.'  'I  is 
got  Pa,  I  tell  yu.'  'W'ey  yu  Pa?  ef  yu  got  urn.'  'My 
Pa  dey  up  loft  een  a  barrel.'  De  oder  gal  tell  him  pa  dat 
night,  en  him  gone  straight  en  tell  my  grandpa,  en  de  nex' 
mo'nin  dem  tell  Mr.  Flowers  en  him  tek  my  grandpa  Moses 

*  "  ne  "  is  a  contraction  of  "  in  the." 
U 


290  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

en  gone  to  Able  house,  en  clem  gone  up  een  de  loft,  en  cley 
tru'es  you  born,  was  Able  cumfutable  een  a  big  rice  barrel  ! 
You  know  dem  was  big  barrel  dat  time  fu'  hoi'  six  hund'ed 
pound.  Wen  dem  tek  Able  to  Maussa  him  say,  'Well  boy, 
I'm  sorry  you  kyant  mek  up  yu  min'  to  wuk  for  me,  you'se 
de  only  run-way  I'se  eber  had,  an'  if  you  don'  want  to  stay  en 
wuk  fu'  me,  I'll  hav'  to  sell  you  I  suppose.'  Now,  Miss 
Pashuns,  yu  see  Gibbie  cum  f'um  run-way  stock,  en  all  o'  dem 
is  triflin'  no-count  people." 

Poor  Gibbie,  I  didn't  know  his  ancestral  weaknesses,  but 
I  recognize  the  type  — ■  quitters  all  —  start  with  a  flourish, 
but  soon  leave  the  track.  His  mother  came  of  better  stock, 
she  was  a  faithful  worker ;  it  is  the  father,  whose  name  I  always 
spell  "Pshaw"  because  it  describes  him,  who  transmits  the 
blood  Chloe  so  scorns.  I  always  have  had  a  weak  spot  for 
Gibbie,  and  now  I  am  more  than  ever  conscious  of  it.  Who  of 
us  rises  above  his  inherited  weaknesses  ?     Not  all,  certainly. 

Monday. 
After  all  the  agitation  of  Gibbie's  disappearance  by  night, 
he  has  returned  and  entreated  me  to  forgive  him,  and  greatly 
to  Chloe's  disgust  I  have  done  so  and  he  is  back  in  the  stable 
and  I  am  thankful  to  have  him  there. 

Tuesday. 

As  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  stand  driving  Marietta  on  foot, 
I  had  Gibbie  lead  her,  sitting  behind  the  buckboard,  in  which 
I  drove  her  mother.  It  is  absolutely  important  that  she 
should  go  out  on  the  public  road  every  day  and  get  accus- 
tomed to  the  sights  —  to-day  I  tried  the  experiment.  She 
went  well  until  I  took  up  the  whip,  and  then  she  drew  back 
and  Gibbie  had  to  get  off.  I  drove  on  slowly,  and  fortunately 
it  happened,  for  just  before  I  reached  the  bridge  I  met  a 
white-covered  wagon  —  those  country  wagons,  which,  seen 
so  often  in  the  mountains,  are  rare  here,  and  Ruth  was  very 
much  frightened  by  it  and  would  not  pass. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  291 

If  a  young  man  who  was  sitting  by  the  driver  had  not 
got  out  and  led  her  past  I  do  not  know  what  would  have 
happened.  I  drove  on  over  the  bridge  and  then  back  to  find 
what  had  become  of  Gibbie  and  Marietta.  I  found  them  still 
fighting,  but  after  a  little  patting  and  talking  to,  Marietta 
allowed  him  to  sit  on  the  buckboard  and  lead  her.  I  went 
about  eight  miles,  and  I  hope  after  this  I  will  have  no  trouble. 

January  11. 

Drove  Ruth  again  with  Gibbie  sitting  on  back  of  buck- 
board  leading  Marietta.  She  fought  a  little  about  turning 
down  the  road,  but  went  ten  miles  after  that  at  a  good  rapid 
pace  and  gave  no  trouble,  so  that  I  was  greatly  surprised 
this  evening  when  Gibbie  asked  for  a  few  words  and  said  : 
"I  do'  wan'  to  hab'  no'tin'  mo'  fur  do  wid  de  colt.  I 
weary  wid  'um,  en  I  do'  wan'  you  for  call  me  no  mo'.  I  dis- 
couridge  'bout  'um." 

I  laughed  at  him  about  it,  but  I  found  he  was  in  earnest 
and  that  there  was  something  I  did  not  understand.  I  said, 
"You  know  the  colt  does  not  like  Dab,  and  she  likes  and 
knows  you.  When  I  got  Jim  to  handle  her  for  the  month  he 
was  here,  I  would  have  liked  him  to  take  Dab  with  him  to 
drive  Marietta,  but  he  said  Dab  was  not  quick  enough,  and 
she  did  not  know  him  —  she  knows  you  because  you  feed  her. 
Now,  are  you  willing  for  me  to  go  out  with  only  Dab 
to  help  me  with  her?"  He  only  mumbled  something  about 
being  "discouridge,"  and  I  let  him  go. 

January  12. 

It  is  a  perfect  spring  day  ;  it  is  hard  to  believe  we  have  two 
months  of  winter  yet.  Of  course  I  could  not  give  up  taking 
Marietta  out  because  of  Gibbie's  whim,  so  I  ordered  the  buck- 
board  with  Ruth,  and  Marietta  with  halter  to  lead  behind 
as  usual,  and   seeing  by  his   stolid,  sulky  expression  that 


292  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

Gibbie  had  not  changed  his  mind  I  called  Dab  to  lead 
Marietta.  We  got  off  better  than  I  had  expected,  Gibbie 
looking  on  with  a  Mephisto  expression.  Things  went  very 
well  until  we  had  gone  about  half  a  mile,  when  an  old  mammy 
with  a  shining  tin  bucket  in  her  hand  came  out  of  a  side  road. 
She  made  me  a  deep  curtsy  and  went  on,  I  supposed,  when 
I  heard  her  exclaim,  "My  lawd,  'e  git  'way,"  and  looking 
back  I  saw  Marietta  flying  down  the  road,  with  the  long 
halter  twisting  about  and  Dab  in  hot  pursuit.  What  was  I 
to  do  ?  Ruth  will  not  stand.  I  got  out  and  took  the  halter 
and  laboriously  sought  a  tree  which  would  suit  by  the  road- 
side and  tied  her.  Then  I  flew  down  the  road,  calling  to  Dab 
to  come  back  and  not  pursue  the  colt.  At  last  he  heard,  and 
I  sent  him  to  stand  by  Ruth  and  I  walked  rapidly  after  Ma- 
rietta. She  was  out  of  sight,  but  at  last  I  came  to  the  place 
where  she  was  grazing  by  the  road.  When  she  first  saw  me 
she  moved  off,  but  I  stood  still  and  called  her  to  me  with  many 
blandishments  and  promises,  and  she  came  quietly  up  to 
me,  let  me  take  the  halter  and  lead  her  back  to  where  the 
buckboard  waited. 

I  charged  Dab  not  to  let  it  happen  again,  and  we  drove 
on  without  further  adventure.  I  told  Dab  he  need  not 
mention  his  great  carelessness  to  any  one ;  that  I  was  too 
much  ashamed  of  it  to  wish  it  known.  I  hope  Gibbie  will 
never  know,  as  we  came  home  all  serene,  having  been  to 
Miss  Penelope's  and  made  many  necessary  purchases. 

January  13. 

When  I  went  to  the  stable  this  morning  Gibbie  had  already 
taken  Marietta  and  led  her  down  the  road  with  the  blind  bridle 
on  !  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  amused.  He  had  thought 
to  scare  me,  thinking  I  would  not  be  willing  to  take  the  colt 
out  without  him,  but  having  failed  in  that  he  has  returned 
to  his  allegiance  to  her.     Jim  put  a  bridle  on  her  without 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  293 

blinkers,  and  it  has  made  her  very  difficult  to  manage.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  use  a  whip  at  all.  I  cannot  lift  my 
hand  to  my  head  without  her  jumping,  so  that  I  am  perfectly 
delighted  that  Gibbie  put  the  other  bridle  on  her.  I  do  hope 
I  can  soon  have  the  harness,  which  has  gone  to  be  mended, 
so  that  I  can  drive  her  again. 

January  18. 

Went  to  Casa  Bianca,  where  things  are  in  a  bad  way  — 
the  hands  positively  refuse  to  come  out  to  work  when  called 
by  Nat.  There  is  no  one  I  can  think  of  whom  I  could  make 
foreman.  Nat  works  faithfully  himself  and  keeps  his  ac- 
counts straight,  and  if  the  hands  will  not  accept  him  they 
will  have  to  go.  From  the  time  Marcus  left  they  have  done 
nothing.  They  planted  five  acres  of  rice-land  apiece,  but 
did  not  work  it  at  all,  so  that  they  did  not  pay  their  rent,  and 
I  know  they  would  do  worse  this  year.  It  has  proved  a 
splendid  crop  year,  and  they  could  get  $1.15  a  bushel  for 
their  rice,  but  they  have  none,  because  they  were  too  lazy 
to  work  it.  They  grumbled  and  jawed  about  "not  takkin' 
orders  from  de  young  man  I  put  in  charge,"  and  when  I 
asked  point-blank  if  they  refused  to  take  orders  from  my  fore- 
man they  answered  that  they  did,  and  I  told  them  to  leave. 

These  men  will  go  to  my  neighbors,  who  will  be  glad  to 
have  them,  and  I  trust  they  will  improve  and  get  back  to 
the  point  they  had  reached  when  Marcus  left.  It  seems  a 
pity  to  have  such  beautiful  lands  as  I  have  there,  lie  idle  for 
want  of  hands. 

I  told  Nat  to  do  the  best  he  could  with  the  few  left  and  to 
exact  a  shad  a  week  from  the  fishermen  who  are  now  spread- 
ing their  nets  in  the  river  just  in  front  of  the  house. 

January  23. 

Got  into  road  cart  at  the  front  door  and  drove  Marietta 
down  the  avenue  for  the  first  time.     She  went  well ;  it  was 


1 

294  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

very  hot  and  she  was  in  a  great  heat  when  we  got  home. 
Went  down  the  road  to  the  log  school-house,  and  no  well- 
broken  horse  could  have  done  better.  With  joy  I  gave  her 
her  two  quarts  of  oats  mixed  with  hot  water  and  soda ;  this 
has  nearly  cured  the  lampas  from  which  she  was  suffering. 
Waited  dinner  till  4  :  30  o'clock,  expecting  Mr.  G.,  but  he  did 
not  come. 

January  25. 

The  hands  all  pulling  corn-stalks ;  Gibbie  hauling  manure 
to  corn-fields.  I  did  not  stop  him  to  drive  Marietta  until 
1  o'clock.  She  behaved  very  badly  at  the  turn  of  the  road 
going  to  Peaceville ;  she  wheeled  suddenly  and  reared  at 
nothing  that  I  could  see.  Gibbie  held  on  to  his  seat.  He 
said,  '"E  smell  goat,  I  smell  um  meself."  I  think  she  was 
provoked  at  not  getting  out  sooner  —  we  generally  go  just 
after  breakfast.  Went  on  to  Peaceville  and  made  a  visit, 
but  she  was  very  ticklish  all  the  time  and  on  the  way  home 
she  tried  to  run  twice.  As  we  got  nearer  home  she  quieted 
down,  and  I  knew  she  was  thinking  of  the  oats,  but  I  did 
not  give  it  to  her,  for  she  understands  perfectly.  To-night 
I  finished  the  first  volume  of  the  "Life  of  George  Eliot," 
by  J.  W.  Cross,  which  Mr.  G.  lent  me.  My  sympathy  with 
her  is  great.  A  grand  woman  in  mind  and  heart.  Such  a 
misfortune  she  should  have  fallen  under  the  Bray  influence. 

January  26. 

A  most  exquisite  sky  at  6  a.m.  and  a  wonderful  sunrise. 
Thank  God  for  all  His  beauty ! 

Drove  Marietta  down  and  took  lunch  at  Mrs.  H.'s.  She 
went  beautifully.  Stood  quietly  the  hour  I  was  there, 
scarcely  moving,  and  was  as  gay  as  possible  at  the  end  of 
the  sixteen-mile  drive,  and  I  gave  her  her  reward  with  de- 
light. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  295 

February  2. 
Have  had  the  pleasure  of  a  friend  staying  with  me,  and  my 
diary  is  blank  in  consequence.  While  my  friend  was  here 
I  could  not  drive  Marietta  and  very  much  feared  that  the 
week's  idleness  would  make  her  unwilling  to  go  quietly  this 
morning,  but  she  did  remarkably  well.  We  just  escaped 
terrible  danger  in  the  shape  of  a  party  of  boys  driving  a  team 
of  goats.  I  saw  them  in  the  distance  and  was  wondering 
what  I  should  do,  when  they  turned  off  into  another  road. 
Coming  home  for  the  first  time  she  had  to  come  behind  a 
buggy,  which  passed  me  while  I  was  stopping  at  the  post- 
office.  She  did  not  mind  it  at  all.  It  was  a  great  satisfaction 
to  me,  as  the  occupant  of  the  buggy  was  one  of  my  dear 
neighbors  who  had  predicted  terrible  things  if  I  undertook 
to  break  the  colt,  and  had  said,  "My  dear  Mrs.  Pennington, 
at  your  age  you  ought  to  have  more  sense  than  to  do  such  a 
foolish  thing." 

Cherokee,  February  18. 

Drove  Marietta  this  morning  and  she  behaved  like  a  fiend. 
With  all  my  heart  I  thank  the  good  Father  for  his  great 
mercy  to  me. 

She  started  off  pretty  well,  though  I  felt  a  subtle  something 
unusual  about  her. 

In  a  woman  it  would  be  called  "nerves."  About  a  mile 
up  the  road  she  had  settled  into  the  long,  swinging  trot,  when 
through  the  pine  woods  running  toward  us  I  saw  two  little 
darkies  in  startlingly  red  frocks  and  startlingly  white  pinafores. 
This  only  was  needed  to  upset  her.  She  jumped,  she  pitched, 
she  went  from  side  to  side  of  the  road,  but  she  did  not  get 
away  from  me,  and  after  a  little  fight  she  quieted  down, 
and  I  called  the  two  little  girls,  who  stood  dismayed  near  the 
road,  to  me  and  talked  to  them,  as  that  is  always  the  most 
quieting  thing  to  her.     She  seems  to  listen  eagerly,  as  if  try- 


296  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

mg  to  understand.  After  a  few  seconds  we  went  on,  very 
gingerly  at  first,  but  soon  she  resumed  her  beautiful  level 
trot,  head  up,  nostrils  distended,  and  speed  gradually  in- 
creasing as  we  went  on.  It  was  delightful,  and  with  a  sigh 
of  relief  I  shook  dull  care  from  me  and  gave  myself  up  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  moment  —  the  perfect  day,  the  battle 
won,  and  the  beautiful,  sleek  bay  creature,  whose  every  pulse 
and  thought  I  seemed  to  feel.  Suddenly  I  saw  fifty  feet 
ahead  at  the  opening  of  the  Hasty  Point  avenue,  where  the 
grass  stood  high,  two  black  heads  rise  above  the  brown, 
waving  sedge  a  second  and  as  suddenly  disappear.  Just 
as  I  saw  them  Marietta  did.  She  stopped  short,  almost 
throwing  me  on  to  her  back.  Then,  quick  as  lightning, 
wheeled  and  bolted,  putting  the  left  wheel  into  the  deep  ditch, 
throwing  me  so  far  out  on  that  side,  that  my  ear  felt  the 
wind  of  the  wheel,  and  was  spattered  with  mud  though  not 
cut.  Luckily  I  had  a  firm  grip  on  the  rein  with  my  right 
hand,  and  having  learned  to  ride  by  balance,  I  did  not 
go  out,  and  my  whole  weight  going  on  that  rein,  pulled  the 
left  wheel  out  of  the  ditch  as  she  ran,  but  it  was  a  near 
thing,  and  God's  great  mercy.  She  ran  half  a  mile  before 
I  could  pull  her  down,  then  I  turned  and  drove  her  back, 
finding  Gibbie  on  the  way.  He  was  thrown  off  when 
she  wheeled,  and  of  course  could  never  catch  up.  I 
drove  her  ten  miles  and  then  up  the  avenue,  where  she  had 
been  frightened.  The  two  boys  (16  and  18),  who  had  caused 
the  trouble,  came  up  to  me  and  begged  my  pardon.  I  spoke 
severely  to  them,  for  some  years  ago  I  remember  they 
scared  the  mail  man's  horse  in  the  same  way,  and  so  could 
not  plead  ignorance.  He,  being  a  man  of  action,  shot  at 
them,  frightening  them  terribly,  and  yet  they  have  done 
exactly  the  same  thing  again,  though  a  man  who  passed 
them  in  a  buggy,  warned  them  that  I  was  coming  with 
the  colt. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  297 

February  20. 
It  rained  yesterday,  so  that  I  could  not  drive  Marietta, 
as  I  wanted  to  do,  but  I  took  her  out  immediately  after 
breakfast  this  morning.  I  could  not  go  as  far  as  I  wanted 
because  about  four  miles  down  the  road  I  found  all  the  woods 
on  fire,  so  I  turned  before  she  got  too  frightened.  She  was 
very  good,  so  I  gave  her  both  oats  and  potatoes  when  we  got 
home.  To-morrow  is  our  rector's  Sunday  and  he  is  to  stay 
with  me.  I  will  have  to  use  both  buckboards.  I  had  Bona- 
parte put  a  new  seat  to  the  old  one,  and  it  looked  so  badly 
that  I  could  not  resist  painting  it  when  I  got  back  from  driv- 
ing Marietta,  thinking  I  would  have  time  if  I  worked  rapidly 
to  get  through  before  Mr.  G.  arrived.  I  was  so  absorbed 
that  I  did  not  hear  the  noise  of  the  rowboat  coming,  and  so 
he  found  me  in  my  big  apron  hard  at  work.  I  was  sorry  to 
be  caught,  but  the  job  was  finished  and  looked  very  fine  — 

at  least  to  my  eyes. 

Sunday,  February  21. 

A  very  pleasant  service.  Mr.  G.  was  to  go  on  to  the  mis- 
sion service  for  the  pineland  people  in  the  woods  about  nine 
miles  away,  so  he  lunched  in  Peaceville  and  I  returned  home. 
As  soon  as  I  got  in  the  gate  Chloe  called  out  "Good  news," 
and  I  found  to  my  delight  that  A.  had  run  down  from  his 
legislative  duties  to  make  me  a  little  visit.     Such  a  pleasure  ! 

February  23. 
Got  up  at  3 :  30  to  have  coffee  and  toast  for  A.  to  go  out 
ducking.  If  you  do  not  go  early  there  is  no  use  to  go  duck- 
ing at  all.  We  had  lunch  at  twelve,  and  then  I  drove  him 
to  Gregory  to  take  the  afternoon  train.  He  got  twelve 
English  ducks,  which  looked  very  imposing  as  he  got  on  the 

train. 

February  26. 

One  of  the  road  cart  wheels  is  dangerous,  so  I  had  Romola 

put  in  and  took  my  side-saddle  along,  and  drove  up  to  a 


298  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

man  about  six  miles  away  and  left  the  cart  to  be  mended. 
Dab  swung  on  the  little  shelf  behind  and  saddled  Romola  for 
me,  then  walked  home  while  I  rode  around  by  Peaceville 
for  the  mail.  It  was  a  long  fatiguing  day,  but  beautiful,  the 
only  drawback  being  that  Don,  my  splendid  red  setter,  came 
upon  a  swarm  of  little  pigs  about  three  days  old  and  killed 
one  of  the  tiny  things,  and  the  old  woman  to  whom  they  be- 
longed was  much  distressed.  I  gave  her  what  I  had  in  my 
purse,  but  it  was  not  much,  and  that  pig  meant  such  immense 
hopes  !  I  felt  for  her  —  oh,  the  pitiful  little  realities  on 
which  we  build  such  towering  hopes  ! 

March  1. 

I  took  the  whole  household  down  to  Casa  Bianca  to-day 
—  Chloe,  Patty,  and  Dab  —  for  I  was  giving  a  luncheon.  It 
was  a  charming  day  and  the  plsce  looked  fascinating  to  me, 
and  every  one  said  the  same  thing.  I  took  out  and  used 
all  my  beautiful  china,  which  I  rarely  do,  because  it  is  such 
a  critical  business  to  get  it  all  washed  up  and  put  away  be- 
fore leaving.  That  is  why  I  took  Chloe  ;  that,  and  the  hope 
of  getting  a  shad  fresh  from  the  river  and  having  it  planked. 
One  of  the  guests  was  from  the  North  and  I  wanted  her  to 
taste  it  fresh  from  the  water,  but  alas  !  Nat  was  so  occupied 
getting  himself  dressed  in  a  stiffly  starched  shirt  and  other 
unusual  adornments  that  he  did  not  get  the  shad.  I  was 
greatly  disappointed,  but  we  went  after  lunch  down  to  the 
river  in  front  of  the  house  and  saw  some  caught,  and  we  each 
carried  one  home  with  us. 

March  3. 

Have  not  been  able  to  drive  Marietta,  because  the  road 
cart  had  gone  to  be  mended,  but  to-day  sent  Dab  up  to  get 
it.  Have  had  a  great  deal  to  worry  me.  I  had  a  letter 
from  the  matron  to  tell  me  that  my  poor,  clear  little  darky 
Rab  is  ill  of  typhoid  pneumonia.  She  says  he  calls  for  me 
all  the  time,  and  asked  her  every  day  if  she  had  written,  so 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


299 


she  had  to  write.  Last  week  I  sold  a  steer  to  a  man  for  $13. 
He  declared  he  had  the  money  or  I  would  not  have  sold  the 
steer.  To-day  he  arrived,  bringing  $4,  with  voluminous 
promises  of  the  rest  in  a  month's  time  — ■  it  will  probably 


.<£* 


I  took  Chloe  to  Casa  Bianca  to  serve  luncheon. 

be  six  months  before  I  see  the  rest  of  the  money  if  ever,  and 
now  I  want  to  send  money  for  Rab's  illness. 

March  5. 

I  sewed  until  11:30  and  then  Gibbie  brought  the  colt. 
It  was  a  perfect  day  and  a  joy  to  be  going  out  with  Marietta 
again.  She  threatened  trouble  at  the  gate,  but  Gibbie  ran 
to  her  head  and  I  gave  her  one  or  two  sharp  cuts  with  the 
whip  and  she  went  on,  rather  sulkily  however,  so  I  had 
Gibbie  walk  ahead  as  far  as  the  bridge,  but  did  not  see  until 
I  was  just  up  to  the  bridge  a  huge  flat  with  a  house  on  it,  a 


300  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

great  smoke  coming  out  of  a  pipe  on  top,  half  under  the  bridge. 
I  called  to  the  man  angrily  to  come  out  and  speak.  Marietta 
seemed  squatting  with  a  view  to  some  desperate  action,  and 
there  was  nothing  I  could  do.  I  could  not  force  her  over 
the  bridge  in  a  state  of  fright  —  it  would  have  been  most 
unwise  —  it  would  have  been  equally  unwise  to  turn  around 
even  if  I  could  have  done  it,  so  I  appeared  to  have  forgotten 
her  and  told  the  man  it  was  against  the  law  to  tie  his  flat 
under  the  bridge  in  that  way,  that  it  was  enough  to  frighten 
any  horse,  and  that  was  actionable,  and  besides  that  it  was 
very  bad  for  the  bridge,  which  was  a  great  expense  to  the 
county,  so  that  he  could  be  indicted  on  two  counts.  I  was 
delighted  with  my  fluency  and  at  its  effect  on  the  man,  but 
kept  my  eye  on  Marietta,  who  was  on  the  point  of  wheeling 
but  was  too  much  interested  to  carry  out  her  intention. 
The  darky  was  most  apologetic  and  polite  and  explained  that 
it  was  not  by  his  desire  he  was  a  fixture  under  the  bridge, 
but  that  he  had  stuck  there  as  he  tried  to  get  through. 
"Worse  and  worse,"  I  said,  "as  the  tide  rises  you  will  carry 
off  the  bridge  entirely  !" 

He  did  not  know  that  I  was  talking  really  for  the  galleries, 
which  meant  the  colt,  though  I  felt  provoked  with  the  man 
for  trying  to  get  under  the  bridge  with  a  flat  too  broad  and 
a  two-story  house,  you  might  say,  on  top  —  my  own  bridge 
over  the  same  creek  had  been  carried  off  in  that  way  two  or 
three  years  ago,  and  I  found  it  Avould  cost  $200,  too  much, 
to  have  it  put  back,  so  that  my  sheep  and  cattle  are  entirely 
cut  off  from  300  acres  of  woods  pasture,  and  that  is  a  great 
loss  to  me ;  still  I  know  too  well  the  futility  of  words  under 
such  circumstances  and  it  was  merely  to  make  time  for  Mari- 
etta to  take  in  the  unusual  sight  —  the  man  explained  that 
he  hoped  the  tide  would  not  rise  any  more  and  that  when  it 
began  to  fall  he  would  try  to  back  out  and  not  undertake  to 
get  through  again.     I  asked  if  there  was  any  one  else  in  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  301 

flat.  He  said  yes.  "Tell  them  to  come  out  and  let  me  see 
them  and  hear  their  names."  So  a  man  and  a  boy  came  out 
and  stood  on  top  of  the  house  in  the  smoke  and  I  lectured 
them  as  to  the  great  blessing  of  having  sense  and  using  it. 
By  this  time  Marietta  was  so  deeply  interested  that  she  re- 
laxed entirely  and  at  once  I  shook  the  reins  and  told  her  to 
go  over,  which  she  did  as  quietly  as  possible,  which  I  think 
was  wonderful.  I  don't  believe  any  power  would  have  taken 
either  of  the  other  horses  over,  but  Marietta  is  so  reasonable. 
I  took  a  long  drive  and  by  the  time  I  came  back  the  flat 

had  gone. 

March  7. 

Had  another  letter  from  matron  of  Jenkin's  establishment 
saying  Rab  is  better  but  very  weak  and  always  calling  for 
"Miss  Pashun,"  and  I  have  made  up  my  mind  as  soon  as  I 
think  he  is  strong  enough  to  go  down  and  bring  him  home. 
I  have  for  a  long  time  been  suffering  from  a  tooth,  but  felt 
it  a  great  extravagance  to  make  a  trip  simply  to  go  to  the 
dentist,  but  now  that  I  must  bring  Rab  home  I  will  combine 
the  two.  I  have  been  very  worried  about  money  and  very 
miserable. 

March  9. 

Took  the  party  clown  to  Casa  Bianca  for  the  day,  which  we 
all  enjoyed.  Just  as  we  got  to  the  gate  in  the  very  narrow 
lane  bordered  with  rose-bushes  on  each  side,  which  takes  the 
place  of  avenue  at  Casa  Bianca,  met  a  very  large  white-cov- 
ered country  wagon  with  four  horses  driven  by  two  white 
men.  The  horses  were  terrified  and  it  was  very  hard  to  get 
by  without  breaking  up  things. 

I  asked  the  men  what  they  were  doing  in  there,  as  it  was 
strictly  private  property,  and  not  on  the  way  anywhere. 
The  men  were  surly  and  refused  to  answer,  and  when  I  asked 
what  they  had  in  the  wagon  they  still  refused  to  answer 
and  were  disposed  to  be  rude. 


302  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

I  have  been  much  tried  by  having  the  plants  in  my  once 
beautiful  garden  carried  away  and  I  feared  this  was  a  dep- 
redation. I  stepped  out  of  the  buckboard,  in  which  I  was 
driving  behind  the  wagon  with  the  wise  men,  and  walking 
to  the  great  covered  wagon  parted  the  flaps  and  looked  in. 
This  seemed  to  enrage  the  man  who  appeared  the  owner,  and 
we  had  quite  a  scene. 

I  was  completely  satisfied  by  my  inspection,  and  when  I 
explained  my  motive  for  wishing  to  know  the  contents  the 
huge,  florid  wagoner  seemed  quite  ashamed  of  himself  for 
not  having  given  a  civil  answer  to  my  question  as  to  what 
had  taken  them  so  far  off  the  public  highway  and  into  my 
private  grounds.  He  now  vouchsafed  the  answer  that  he 
had  gone  in  to  buy  a  shad,  and  with  many  apologies  on  his 
part  and  much  admiration  of  the  beauty  of  the  place  we 
parted. 

My  wise  men  were  most  enthusiastic  over  the  garden, 
where  the  camellias  were  in  full  bloom,  though  the  azaleas 
were  not  yet  out  —  Mr.  Poinsett  planted  this  garden  some- 
where between  1830  and  1835,  was  a  scientific  gardener  and 
brought  many  rare  plants  from  Mexico,  among  others  the 
gorgeous  Flor  de  la  Noche  Buena,  which  has  borne  in  this 
country  the  name  Poinsettia  in  his  honor.  There  is  very 
little  left  of  the  original  garden,  only  the  camellia  bushes 
which  have  grown  into  trees  and  the  Olia  fragrans,  Magnolia 
purpuria,  and  Pyrus  Japonica.  The  cloth  of  gold,  Lamarque 
and  other  roses  which  grew  rampantly,  rejoicing  in  congenial 
soil,  have  been  carried  off  from  time  to  time  by  visitors,  and 
the  hedge  of  azaleas  has  been  almost  destroyed  in  the  same 
way. 

Nat  is  watchman  there,  but  of  course  he  cannot  prevent 
such  things ;  he  can  only  remonstrate.  Thus  far  he  has 
been  able  to  protect  the  house. 

I  was  quite  touched  by  the  interest  of  Mr.  S.     He  was 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  303 

much  impressed  by  the  books,  prints,  etc.,  which  have  been 
shut  for  thirty  years  in  the  house  and  of  course  moth  and 
rust  have  corrupted  and  done  their  work.  As  he  looked  over 
them  he  got  quite  excited  and  said  :  — 

"Mrs.  Pennington,  say  the  word  and  I  will  send  to  Gregory 
and  get  boxes  —  this  young  man  can  go  at  once  for  them  — 
and  I  will  pack  all  these  things  for  you  and  ship  them  to  the 
north  and  sell  them  for  you  to  the  best  advantage." 

When  I  demurred  he  added :  "It  shan't  cost  you  a  cent; 
it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  me  to  attend  to  it.  These  things  in- 
terest me  and  I  cannot  bear  to  see  them  perish.  They  are 
valuable  and  could  bring  you  in  a  good  sum." 

I  said:  "I  am  much  touched  at  your  kindness,  Mr.  S., 
and  thank  you  very  much  for  your  offer.  I  think  you  greatly 
exaggerate  the  value  of  these  things.  I  sent  on  some  of  the 
most  valuable  this  year  to  New  York  and  got  a  pitiable 
result  in  money.  I  knew  those  things  to  have  a  value  of 
about  $600  at  the  least  and  I  got  $100. 

"You  would  take  all  the  trouble  and  expense  of  packing 
and  transporting  these  things  and  when  you  went  to  dispose 
of  them  you  would  find  nobody  wanted  to  give  anything 
for  them,  and  the  greater  part  would  be  treated  as  rubbish. 
You  would  be  embarrassed  by  your  effort  to  do  a  kindness. 

"No,  let  them  stay  where  they  are,  where  they  have  a 
right  to  be,  and  where  if  they  are  rubbish,  they  are  at  least 
rubbish  dear  to  my  heart." 

It  was  hard  to  make  him  accept  a  refusal  of  his  kind  offer. 
It  is  not  the  first  time  that  offer  has  been  made  to  me.  I 
greatly  appreciate  the  kindness  which  prompts  such  active 
interest,  but  I  cannot  accept  it. 

I  cannot  place  my  dear  old  possessions  in  such  a  position. 
Let  them  grow  old  comfortably  unexposed  to  comment  and 
criticism  and  above  all  appraisement.  I  do  not  defend  my 
position  —  it  is  unreasoning  and  I  suppose  unreasonable ; 


304  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

but  unfortunately  I  am  made  that  way.     Mr.  S.,  who  is  a 

practical  and  very  kindly  soul,  was  quite  distressed  at  his 

failure  to  convince  me.     The  commercial  instinct  is  lacking 

in  me  altogether,  I  fear. 

Cherokee,  Sunday. 

It  was  a  great  effort  to  go  to  church  this  morning,  but  I 
went  and  was  rewarded.  I  enjoyed  the  service,  and  the  short 
sermon  was  beautiful,  on  the  22d  chapter  of  Genesis  —  Abra- 
ham's call  to  sacrifice  his  son,  his  only  son,  Isaac.  It  seems 
Isaac  means  laughter.  Abraham  in  his  great  joy  at  this 
unexpected  and  belated  blessing  called  the  child  Laughter. 
That  makes  the  story  more  wonderful. 

Gregory,  Monday. 

By  to-day's  mail  I  got  a  letter  to  say  that  Rab  had  been 
sitting  up  a  week  and  for  two  days  had  been  out  of  the  house, 
so  I  suddenly  made  up  my  mind,  ordered  the  buckboard,  and 
told  Bonaparte  to  prepare  to  go  with  me  and  drove  down. 

I  had  two  delays  on  the  road,  one  of  about  ten  minutes  at 
the  ferry,  and  as  I  had  left  very  late  I  missed  the  train  by 
three  minutes.  I  had  driven  six  miles  in  a  pouring  rain. 
As  it  was  bright  when  I  left,  and  my  buggy  umbrella  is  faded 
and  torn  I  had  left,  that  good  friend  at  home,  so  I  had  to 
take  the  rain  protected  only  by  a  small  umbrella.  And 
then  to  come  to  a  hotel  where  there  was  no  fire  or  means  of 
warming ! 

However,  these  are  occasions  for  showing  one's  philosophy, 
and  I  have  not  fretted  at  all,  but  amused  myself  imagining 
what  it  would  be  to  live  in  a  hotel,  or  hostelry  of  any  sort, 
permanently.  The  thought  made  my  strenuous,  and  some- 
times a  little  hard,  life  seem  ideal  in  spite  of  its  limitations. 

Cherokee,  March  19. 
Returned  from  Carrollton  last  night  and  was  most  pleas- 
antly entertained  at  Woodstock.     Brought  poor,  thin,  shaky 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  305 

little  Rab  up  as  far  as  Gregory,  having  written  to  Jim  to 
meet  him  at  the  train  and  take  him  to  his  house  for  the 
night. 

The  child  seemed  overjoyed  to  be  coming  home.  Dab 
brought  the  buckboard  and  pair  to  Woodstock,  without  any 
catastrophe,  at  10  o'clock.  I  drove  into  Gregory  to  Jim's 
house  to  pick  up  Rab. 

I  found  him  still  beaming  in  a  very  feeble  black  way,  and 
still  grasping  the  coverless  shoe  box  with  which  he  had  ap- 
peared at  the  station.  Jim's  wife  said  she  had  been  glad  to 
have  him  spend  the  night  there,  and  her  mother,  who  be- 
longed to  one  of  our  most  trusted  families  in  the  far  past, 
came  out  and  gave  me  a  very  beautiful  blessing,  which  went 
to  my  heart,  and  at  the  same  time  made  me  laugh,  as  she 
began  :  — 

"Po'  little  man  !  will  ondertak  t'ing  too  big  fur  um  !  But 
de  Lawd'll  bless  um  all  de  same,"  and  so  on  indefinitely. 

When  we  reached  Cherokee  the  mystery  of  the  shoe  box 
was  revealed.  With  trembling  fingers  Rab  unrolled  a  gor- 
geous cup  and  saucer,  rose  adorned  and  with  a  heavy  gilt 
band,  which  he  presented  most  awkwardly  to  Chloe,  and 
after  some  fumbling  in  the  newspapers  of  the  box  produced 
a  mint  candy  basket  filled  with  broken  bits  of  candy  which  he 
poked  into  Dab's  hands.     The  effect  was  dramatic. 

Chloe  had  not  pretended  to  be  glad  of  Rab's  return,  and 
her  greeting  had  been  cool,  to  say  the  least.  Now  she  was 
so  surprised  as  to  be  quite  overcome.  Dab  had  said  to  his 
confidants  that  as  soon  as  I  brought  Rab  home  he  would 
leave,  for  he  knew  he  could  not  keep  good  with  Rab  here. 
The  candy  had  a  most  pleasing  effect  upon  him,  so  poor  little 
Rab  had  a  cordial  home-coming  at  last. 

When  I  went  to  the  orphanage  to  see  him  and  the  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  him  to  meet  me  the  next  day  at  the 
train  his  look  of  tremulous  joy  at  the  prospect  of  going 


306  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"home"  was  very  pathetic  to  me,  for  I  knew  I  was  the  only 
creature  who  would  greet  him  with  pleasure  there.  I  took 
out  a  quarter  from  my  very  empty  purse  and  said :  — 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  buy  a  present  to  take  to  Chloe  and 
Dab?" 

He  answered  with  delight  that  he  would.  When  he  met 
me  at  the  station  with  the  very  respectable  and  pleasant 
matron,  his  well-worn  valise  beside  him  very  much  stuffed 
out  and  the  shoe  box  covered  with  newspaper  tightly  held  in 
his  hand,  I  supposed  that  was  his  lunch,  but  at  Lane's  when 

I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  lunch  he  answered  no,  and  I  gave 
him  some  of  mine.  I  wondered  over  the  contents  of  the  very 
unhandy  package,  but  did  not  inquire  about  it. 

I  was  greatly  pleased  at  the  success  of  his  offerings  and  I 
think  he  chose  very  well. 

Cherokee,  March  20. 

Wrote  furiously  for  the  mail,  and  by  the  time  it  came  at 

II  had  ready  letters  containing  checks  to  pay  off  all  my 
debts,  which  is  an  immense  comfort,  though  accomplished 
by  the  sale  of  things  very  dear  to  me.  I  am  thankful  now 
that  is  over. 

I  wanted  to  drive  the  colt,  but  felt  too  weak  and  worth- 
less, not  to  say  confused  and  discouraged,  to  attempt  it. 

March  21. 

Drove  Marietta  to  Peaceville  and  then  in  to  Miss  Penel- 
ope's, making  about  ten  miles.  She  wanted  to  fight  twice, 
but  when  I  spoke  to  her  and  said  "Mind  your  oats"  she 
steadied  herself  and  went  beautifully,  and  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  giving  her  a  generous  portion  of  oats. 

Gibbie  gets  out  fifteen  ears  of  corn  for  her  at  a  feed,  but 
I  fear  me  she  never  gets  more  than  five.  The  product  of 
the  patch  behind  his  house  planted  in  corn  is  unlimited.  He 
is  still  selling  corn  weekly,  ostensibly  from  it. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  307 

Bought  fishing  tackle,  lines  and  hooks  from  Miss  Penelope 
this  morning  and  hired  old  Tiny  to  come  and  fix  up  the  lines 
and  go  out  fishing  with  Rab,  hoping  for  a  fish  now  and  then 
to  eat,  and  that  it  would  prove  a  most  peaceful,  healthful 
way  for  Rab  to  pass  his  time,  until  he  gets  stronger. 

March  22. 

Went  out  to  street  to  visit  Gibbie  and  see  if  he  was  really 
ill  or  not.  Found  him  sitting  by  the  fire.  I  don't  know 
whether  there  is  anything  the  matter  or  not.  Went  to  see 
Elihu's  little  daughter  Juno,  who  is  in  a  very  bad  way,  so 
weak  and  emaciated  that  it  is  painful  to  see  her. 

March  23. 

Ransom  came  to-day  for  money  due  him  for  making  the 
chimney  for  the  house  I  had  fixed  for  poor  Elihu  to  move 
the  remnant  of  his  family  back  home.  I  can  ill  afford  it,  but 
I  thought  the  march  of  death  might  be  impeded  by  their 
coming  back  where  they  were  born,  and  besides  I  can  help 
them  by  sending  things  to  the  ailing  ones. 

Ransom  talked  a  great  deal.  I  sympathized  with  him 
in  the  death  of  his  grandchildren,  Estelle's  children.  They 
seem  to  have  developed  a  new  disease  which  has  puzzled 
the  doctors  —  some  acute  condition  of  the  eyes,  inflamma- 
tion producing  blindness  and  eventually  death.  We  have 
had  for  some  years  a  clever  graduate  of  Johns  Hopkins  in  this 
region  who  is  making  a  study  of  malarial  diseases.  He  went 
North  three  months  ago,  and  one  of  the  negroes  telling  me 
of  an  illness  when  they  had  to  do  without  the  doctor,  there 
being  none  within  fourteen  miles,  said  with  an  air  of  inti- 
mate understanding :  — 

"We  doctor  gone  fu'  larn  fu'  scrape  eye.  'E  say  him  don' 
kno'  nuff  'bout  dat,  say  him  neber  larn  fu'  scrape  eye  yet." 

Ransom  talked  on,  giving  me  the  news  of  the  colored  world 


308  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

and  the  crops,  etc.  It  consumes  much  time,  but  I  try  to 
lend  a  willing  ear.     Finally  he  said  :  — ■ 

"Miss  Pashuns,  I  got  a  great  tenks  to  gi'e  you.  You 
don'  me  a  great  good.  Maybe  you  don'  fu'git,  but  I  'mem- 
ber. You  kno'  dat  time  I  bin  een  sitch  big  distruss?  I  los' 
me  wife,  I  los'  me  ox,  I  los'  me  cow,  en  I  come  to  you  fu' 
help,  en  you  mek  answer  en  say:  'Ransom,'  says  you,  'I 
ain't  got  no  money  to  gi'e  you,  but  I  kin  p'int  you  to  help. 
Wot's  happen  to  you  is  happen  befo'  to  anoder  puson.  Now 
you  go  home  en  tek  yo'  Bible  down  en  look  fu'  de  book  o' 
Job,  en  you  mek  a  prayer  to  de  Almighty  to  open  yo'  mind 
fu'  onderstan',  en  you  read  de  book  o'  Job  en  study  ober  him.' 

"Dat  was  yo'  discose  to  me,  en  I  gon  right  home  en  I  tek 
down  me  Bible,  en  I  fin'  de  Book  o'  Job ;  en,  Miss  Pashuns, 
I  was  dat  'stonish  !  Dey  was  all  me  feelin's,  en  all  me  suf- 
fering, en  eben  all  me  wud,  rite  dey ;  en  I  read,  en  I  read 
tell  de  kumfut  kum  to  me.  En,  Miss  Pashuns,  ma'am,  my 
min'  bekum  quiet  en  happy  en  I  neber  is  fret  sence.  So  dat 
wus  a  presunt  yu  mek  me  dat  time  abuv  gol',  kase  'e  kyant 
loss." 

I  was  greatly  amazed  and  touched,  and  I  said  :  — 

"Well,  Ransom,  you  have  returned  the  gift  to  me,  and  I 
thank  you,  for  I  have  been  terribly  worried  and  harassed  in 
mind  and  spirit,  and  you  have  brought  to  my  mind  where 
I  can  find  help.  I  will  turn  to  the  Book  of  Job  myself  to- 
day." 

Having  begun  on  a  real  discourse,  Ransom  was  not  will- 
ing to  stop.     He  went  on  :  — 

"Anoder  t'ing  I  wants  to  tell  you,  Miss  Pashuns.  Las' 
Sunday  week  five  o'  we  mens,  all  mauss  nigger  [negroes 
once  owned  by  the  same  person  ;  it  is  a  bond  of  fellowship], 
meet  in  de  road,  en  Joseph  say  :  — 

"'I  wants  to  tell  unna  ob  a  wision  I  had.  Las'  nite  I 
wake  wid  a  big  light  een  de  rum,  en  I  rub  me  eye  en  I  look, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


309 


en  dey  I  see  ole  Miss ;  'e  stan'  en  'e  look  on  me  —  'e  look 
nyung,  'mos'  like  a  gal,  but  you  cud  tell  rite  off  'twas  ole 
Miss,  kase  'e  had  de  full  look  o'  she  een  'e  eye,  en  'e  dress 
was  all  w'ite  en  shine  same  like  lightnin' ;  'e  wus  too  butiful. 
I  look  en  I  was  dumb ;  'e  neber  say  nothing,  'e  jes'  look  at 
me  so  kynd  en  den  'e  fade  'way. 
Now  I  wan'  to  kno'  wha'  dat  sig- 
nify. 'Tis  a  tokin  f u'  sartain,  but 
wha'  does  'e  signify  ?  ' 

"En  I  mek  answer  een  dese 
wud  :  'My  bruder,  'e  is  a  tokin 
f 'r  good  sho'ly.  Ole  Miss  is  een 
Heben  es  sho'  es  you  bawn.' 
En  'e  say,  'Yo  t'ink  so?  Yo' 
t'ink  ole  Miss  is  een  Heben  ? ' 

"En  I  mek  answer  en  says, 
'Ef  ole  Miss  ain't  een  Heben, 
den  no  mortal  man  or  'oman 
ain't  dere.  Now,  Joseph,  you 
kyas  yo'  mind  back,  en  reco- 
member  how  ole  Miss  fight  wid  we  all  fu'  teach  we,  f'um  de 
time  him  married  ole  Maussa  —  en  dem  was  nyung  den,  en 
'twas  my  pa  dem  bin  teach  den  —  ebry  libing  Sunday  ole 
Miss  hab  ebery  chile  on  de  whole  plantation  en  teech  dem. 
Fust  'e  teech  "Our  Fader  praise,"  den  de  Ten  Kummanment, 
den  de  "I  belieb"  praise,  den  w'en  we  kno'  all  dat,  sose  we 
kin  say  um  widout  stop,  den  'e  teech  de  wud  o'  de  blessed 
Sabior,  chapter  at  a  time,  till  all  we  chillum  w'at  cudn't  read, 
we  hab  we  head  chock  full  o'  Scriptur. 

"'  Now  w'en  we  dun  say  we  Katakism  den  up  kum  Maum 
Mary  wid  de  big  cake  een  de  wheelbarrer,  en  ole  Miss  kut 
um  'eself,  en  gib  eech  chile  a  big  slice.  I  neber  tas'  sech 
cake  sence,  'e  had  su  much  aig,  en  su  much  sugar,  en  su  much 
short'nin'  'e  mek  me  mout'  water  now,  w'en  I  t'ink  pun  um. 


I  read  tell  de  kurnfut  kum  to 
me." 


310  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

'"Now,  Joseph,  I  ax  you  if  ole  Miss  ent  mek  she  title  clear 
to  him  manshun  een  de  sky  ?  'E  cud  a  bin  a  sleep,  or  'e 
cud  a  bin  a  dribe  out  een  de  open  karrige  fu',  wisit  she  fren', 
or  'e  cud  a  bin  a  eat  cake  sheself,  but  no,  Sunday  afta'  Sun- 
day, kump'ny  or  no  kump'ny,  fo'  o'clock  Sunday  ebning 
yu'le  fin'  ole  Miss  een  de  church  Maussa  build  een  de  abenue, 
wid  f'um  fifty  to  one  hund'rcl  chillum  de  wrastle  wid  dem 
ondirstand'in'. 

'"I  kin  read  now,  but  my  breder,  all  cle  fulness  o'  my  min' 
kum  f'um  dem  Bible  wud  dat  I  got.  I  don't  need  no  spec- 
tacle, I  don't  need  no  light,  I  kin  jes'  pore  out  de  Scriptur  to 
eny  po'  sinna  I  meets  nedin'  urn.'" 

I  cannot  give  any  idea  of  the  balm  these  simple  words 
brought  to  my  bruised  and  wounded  spirit.  I  thanked  Ran- 
som with  all  my  heart  for  his  beautiful,  earnest  testimony  to 
my  dear  mother's  unwavering  devotion  to  her  duty  as  she 
saw  it,  from  the  time  she  came  to  the  plantation  as  a  bride  of 
nineteen. 

Before  going  Ransom  wished  me  many  blessings,  and 
wound  up  by  saying,  "Miss  Pashuns,  I  hope  you  is  conwert  ? " 

Quite  alarmed,  I  asked  him  what  he  meant. 

"I  mean  I  hope  you's  got  religion,  ma'am." 

"Oh,  Ransom,  I  hope  so." 

"Well,  ma'am,  I'm  glad  to  hear  it,  en  I  hope  'tis  true." 

He  did  not  seem  to  feel  quite  satisfied  about  it,  which  was  a 
great  shock.  I  know,  measured  by  the  standard  he  had  in 
mind,  I  fall  very  short.     I  must  fly  to  Job  at  once. 

Cherokee,  March  24. 

I  have  had  the  great  pleasure  of  a  short  visit  from  my 
friend  M.  T.  She  had  only  a  few  days  of  rest  from  her  work 
in  the  East  Side  Settlement  House,  and  to  my  refreshment 
and  delight  she  came  to  me.  I  love  to  hear  of  all  the  wonder- 
ful work  done  there. 


A     WOMAN    BICE    PLANTER 


311 


a 

& 

a 


312  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

On  Thursday  I  had  a  most  surprising  letter  from  an  un- 
known friend  in  New  York,  saying  she  had  become  interested 
in  the  children  of  my  Sunday-schools  and  asking  if  she  might 
send  some  little  Easter  presents  for  them.  It  was  so  un- 
expected and  so  delightful !  I  had  no  thought  of  being  able 
to  get  anything  for  the  children. 

I  wrote  her  at  once,  giving  a  list  of  the  children  of  the  three 
distinct  classes  in  which  I  am  interested.  There  is  the  class 
of  little  gentlefolk  in  the  hamlet  of  Peaceville  whom  I  teach 
in  summer  first,  then  the  larger  class  at  St.  Peter's  Mission 
Church  out  in  the  pine  woods.  These  are  the  children  of 
the  white  workers  in  turpentine.  Finally  there  are  the  little 
darkies  on  the  plantation  whom  I  teach  in  winter,  when  I 
can  get  them.  Their  own  churches,  Methodist  and  Baptist, 
are  very  jealous  and  discourage  their  coming. 

I  wrote  Miss  W.  that  I  sent  them  all,  so  that  she  could 
choose  the  class  to  which  she  would  send  presents,  and  told 
her  how  to  address  the  package. 

It  rained  heavily  in  the  afternoon.  Gibbie  did  not  come, 
so  I  had  to  milk.  I  was  perfectly  delighted,  because  I  got 
more  milk  from  Winnie  than  either  Gibbie  or  Dab  has  been 
getting.  "When  I  was  in  the  mountains  one  summer  I  took 
regular  lessons  in  milking,  for  the  mountain  folk  milk  beauti- 
fully, whereas  the  negroes  are  generally  poor  milkers.  They 
never  can  take  all  the  milk,  and  if  you  do  not  keep  the  calf  to 
take  the  balance  when  the  milking  is  over,  the  cow  will  go 
dry  in  a  very  short  time.  Leave  a  pint  to-day  and  to-mor- 
row there  is  that  much  less,  and  so  on,  a  pint  less  every  day. 
The  cow  is  soon  only  fit  to  turn  out  to  pasture. 

You  cannot  teach  what  you  do  not  yourself  understand,  so 
I  took  milking  lessons,  and  as  a  teacher  have  been  rather  a 
success,  but  have  been  generally  greatly  mortified  at  the 
results  of  my  efforts  at  milking  myself.  Hence  my  pride 
when  Chloe  said  the  milk  was  much  more  than  usual.     Chloe 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


313 


Gibbie  and  the  oxen. 


A 


cannot  milk,  she  draws  the  line  there,  and  Bonaparte  is  still 
working  on  the  pineland  house  four  miles  away,  and  does  not 
come  to  the  yard  at  all. 

After  taking  the  milk  to  the  house  I  went  to  the  barn-yard 
and  fed  the  oxen.  Gib- 
bie had  taken  them  out 
of  the  plough  and  turned 
them  out  in  the  rain  with 
nothing  to  eat  and  had 
gone  home.  I  gave  them 
a  good  supper  and  then 
went  home,  changed  my 
wet  clothes,  and  had  my 
tea  and  toast  and  then 
a  delightful  evening  reading  "The  Power  of  Silence.' 

wonderful  book,  to  my  mind. 

March  25. 

Good  Friday.     B.  and  her  dear  little  party  arrived  safely 

at  1  o'clock.     It  had  poured  all  night  and  part  of  the  morning, 

so  I  was  anxious  about  them.     The  children  are  lovely,  the 

baby  like  a  sweet  flower  with  her  heaven  touched  blue  eyes. 

Unfortunately  their  trunks  went  astray  in  some  way  and  Dab 

returned  with  the  wagon  empty,  except  for  the  baby  carriage. 

Easter  Sunday,  March  27. 

A  beautiful  day  and  charming  service.  The  collection  was 
for  missions  and  our  delight  was  great  at  finding  it  was  a  little 
over  $12.  It  will  pay  up  our  apportionment.  I  drove  our 
rector  to  church  in  Peaceville  and  then  let  him  have  the  buck- 
board  and  Ruth  to  go  on  to  St.  Peter's,  while  I  came  home 
with  my  dear  little  neighbor,  who  dined  with  me. 

A  number  of  little  darkies  came  to  Sunday-school  and 
sang  very  nicely.  Lizette  came  for  the  first  time.  She  is 
about  14,  very  tall  and  gawky,  but  with  a  good  face.  She 
knows  not  a  word  of  the  catechism,  while  Goliah  and  the 


314  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

other  little  ones  say  their  Creed,  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  that  most  comprehensive  duty  to  God  and  duty  to  one's 
neighbor,  glibly.  The  Easter  hymn  which  they  have  been 
learning  for  a  month,  "Christ  the  Lord  is  Risen  To-day," 
went  beautifully.  They  left  with  great  speed  after  receiving 
a  double  portion  of  candy  in  honor  of  Easter. 

After  they  had  gone,  I  went  out  to  enjoy  the  exquisite 
afternoon,  with  its  rosy  golden  light,  and  there  at  the  foot  of 
the  steps  was  a  huge  snake.  I  looked  for  a  long  pole  and 
killed  it  after  a  fight.  While  I  was  finding  the  stick  it 
had  got  under  the  house,  which  made  it  harder  to  kill  it. 
It  did  not  seem  quite  dead  and  the  puppy  wanted  to  play 
with  it,  so  I  went  into  the  yard  and  got  the  axe  and  chopped 
off  its  head,  and  as  Prince,  who  has  no  country  sense,  still 
wanted  to  get  the  head,  I  buried  it  quite  deep,  all  of  which 
somewhat  interfered  with  my  enjoyment  of  the  peace  and 
beauty  of  the  Easter  gloaming.  It  makes  one  think,  when 
these  terrible  discords  come  into  the  harmonies  of  a  perfect 
day,  must  the  trail  of  the  serpent  creep  into  everything  ? 

Am  I  yielding  to  the  temptation  of  getting  too  much  amuse- 
ment out  of  my  dusky  little  scholars  ?  Do  I  not  agonize 
over  them  sufficiently?  That  may  well  be.  It  seems  so 
hopeless  to  reach  below  the  surface,  so  hard  to  influence  the 
spirit,  the  life,  by  this  hour's  teaching  once  a  week.  Still  I 
must  do  what  I  can ;  I  cannot  see  them  follow  their  blind 
leaders  without  making  an  effort  to  help  them. 

It  does  not  come  to  them  as  it  does  to  the  heathen,  who 
have  never  heard  of  God,  as  something  new,  a  revelation. 
They  hear  great  professions  of  religion  and  calls  upon  the 
Lord,  and  yet  there  is  the  daily  example  of  deceit,  faithless 
work,  the  snatching  up  of  any  and  everything  that  can  be 
stolen  unseen.  To  be  discovered  is  the  only  sin ;  you  may 
lie,  break  any  of  the  Commandments,  only  don't  let  it  be 
found  out.     This  going  on  daily,  hourly,  yearly,  who  but 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  315 

the  Holy  Spirit  can  contend  against  it  ?  I  constantly  tell 
them  that  when  they  have  all  these  good  words  stored  in  their 
minds,  or  rather  their  memories,  and  at  their  command,  they 
have  only  to  call  them  up,  when  Satan  attacks  them,  to  be 
able  to  defeat  him.  Even  our  blessed  Saviour  when  tempted 
by  the  Evil  One  did  not  answer  in  his  own  words,  but  in  the 
words  of  Scripture.  "It  is  written,"  was  the  preface  to  his 
reply.  I  often  feel  that  this  is  the  greatest  thing  we  can  do 
for  children,  to  store  their  minds  with  these  powerful  words, 
which  will  come  to  them  in  their  hour  of  trial,  as  weapons 
against  the  deadly  spiritual  foe. 

Sunday,  April  3. 

To-day  I  had  the  joy  of  distributing  at  St.  Peter 's-in-the- 
woods  the  pretty  Easter  eggs  Miss  W.  had  sent  for  the 
children.  It  was  a  joy  to  see  the  usually  phlegmatic  faces 
light  up  at  the  sight  of  the  lovely  things  in  the  familiar  form 
of  an  egg. 

I  asked  the  very  pretty  young  mother  who  tries  to  keep  the 
Sunday-school  going  all  the  time,  though  as  she  says  she 
"has  mighty  little  knolidge  herself,"  to  tell  me  the  name  of 
the  best  scholar.  She  answered  very  demurely  :  "It  would- 
n't do  for  me  to  tell  you,  Miss  Patience ;  the  best  plan  is  for 
you  to  listen  to  the  lesson  an'  then  you  can  tell  yourself." 

When  the  lesson  was  said  I  found  her  little  boy  of  6  was 
far  ahead  of  the  others  in  saying  his  lesson  and  that  was  why 
she  could  not  tell  me.  The  next  best  was  a  boy  of  14  who 
was,  she  said,  the  most  punctual  of  all  in  attendance,  coming 
a  number  of  miles  on  foot  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  but  he  had 
no  one  at  home  to  help  him  with  the  lesson. 

"So,  in  reason,"  she  said,  "he  couldn't  know  it  as  good  as 
my  little  boy,  fur  I  teaches  him  ;  but  Joe  does  his  best,  en  he 
aims  to  learn." 

So  I  decided  to  give  the  rabbit  about  five  inches  high  to 
him,  and  said:    "Mrs.  M.  tells  me  you  are  so  punctual  in 


316  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

coming,  Joe,  that  I  am  going  to  give  you  the  largest  one  of  the 
pretty  things,  which  a  kind  friend  away  off  in  New  York,  has 
sent  as  an  Easter  offering." 

To  see  the  heavy,  patient  looking  face  suddenly  light  up 
and  then  fairly  beam,  when  the  rabbit  was  put  into  his  hands, 
was  too  delightful.  I  did  not  look  at  him  too  hard,  it  was 
such  a  revelation  of  fourteen  years  of  limitation  and  priva- 
tion unconsciously  borne. 

I  passed  on  and  gave  each  child  a  most  beautiful  egg. 
They  were  all  filled  with  little  sugar  eggs  of  different  delicious 
flavorings. 

To  the  children  of  the  cities  these  things  are  all  well  known, 
but  to  these  little  pine  wood  children  of  nature  they  were 
heaven  sent  mysteries.  When  I  had  finished  the  distribution 
the  big  boy  Joe  came  to  me  and  said  :  — 

"Hear,  Mrs.  Pashuns,  my  rabbit  rattles  !" 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "he  is  full  of  little  eggs." 

"Will  I  have  to  break  him  to  get  at  them  ?  Fur  I'd  ruther 
not  get  um  than  to  break  him." 

When  I  showed  him  how  to  take  the  head  off,  his  content 
was  complete. 

Got  home  just  before  dark,  tired  and  very  hungry  after  the 
eighteen-mile  drive  and  the  two  services,  but  having  thor- 
oughly enjoyed  the  day.  It  was  very  pleasant  that  it  was 
our  rector's  day  with  us,  so  that  I  drove  him  out  to  the  church 
and  back  instead  of  taking  the  drive  alone. 

Cherokee,  April  4. 

I  am  worrying  as  to  how  I  am  going  to  get  seed  rice. 
Some  hands  want  to  plant  a  field  of  rice,  and  it  seems  to  me 
I  ought  not  to  be  behind  them  in  faith.  If  they  are  willing 
to  risk  their  work,  I  ought  to  be  willing  to  risk  the  seed  rice. 
But  the  question  is  where  to  get  it. 

The  great  destruction  of  rice  by  the  floods  last  summer 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


317 


ll 


f  H.y ■  <>3^    >^^^f#.  '£ :       ft' 


M  f'li 


f|  i; 


318  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

has  made  seed  rice  very  scarce  and  very  high,  and  of  course 
no  one  will  be  willing  to  sell  it  except  for  cash.  However,  I 
have  promised  to  try  and  get  it  for  the  hands  who  want  to 
plant  Vareen. 

While  we  were  sitting  at  breakfast  this  morning  Chloe 
came  to  the  door  and  mysteriously  beckoned  to  me.  I  rose 
at  once  and  went  out  knowing  something  had  happened  by 
her  tragic  expression.  When  we  were  out  of  hearing  from 
the  dining  room  she  said  :  — 

"Miss  Pashuns,  Rab  is  shot  'eself." 

"Good  heavens,  Chloe  !     Where  is  he?" 

"Right  to  de  pantry  do'." 

I  flew  out  and  there  was  Rab  moaning  piteously  with  the 
blood  streaming  from  his  left  hand.  It  was  no  time  to  ask 
questions.  I  called  for  a  basin  of  hot  water  and  sent  to  my 
room  for  a  roll  of  absorbent  cotton  and  a  bottle  of  turpentine 
and  washed  the  wound,  which  was  all  burned  with  powder. 

The  missile,  a  jagged  piece  of  lead,  had  gone  straight 
through  the  hand,  making  a  very  ugly,  ragged  wound. 
How  it  got  through  the  muscles,  veins,  and  bones  between  the 
second  and  third  finger  without  touching  any  of  them  is  a 
wonder.  The  bleeding  was  not  excessive.  I  packed  the 
hole  with  cotton  saturated  with  turpentine,  both  top  and 
bottom,  getting  it  as  far  into  the  wound  as  I  could. 

Poor  little  Rab  behaved  very  well,  did  not  scream,  only 
the  tears  rolled  down  his  very  black  face.  After  it  was  bound 
up  securely,  my  niece  fortunately  having  a  roll  of  bandages 
with  her,  I  asked  him  how  it  happened.  He  said  he  was 
playing  with  the  plantation  musket,  trying  to  get  out  a  piece 
of  lead  that  was  in  it.  He  had  the  palm  of  his  hand  over  the 
muzzle  when  he  moved  the  trigger,  with  this  result. 

I  did  not  scold  him ;  what  was  the  use  ?  All  my  efforts 
to  give  him  healthy  and  satisfying  amusement  and  occupation 
in  the  boat  have  been  in  vain.     He  will  not  go  with  old 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  319 

Tinny,  nor  to  fish  at  all  unless  Dab  leaves  his  work  to  go  with 
him.  He  is  too  weak  to  do  any  work,  and  there  is  nothing 
that  he  can  be  persuaded  to  do  but  play  with  some  firearm. 

Dab  has  done  wonderfully  well,  for  the  house,  of  which  I 
am  generally  the  sole  occupant,  is  now  quite  full,  and  Dab 
has  the  dining  room  work,  which  he  does  beautifully.  He 
has  confided  to  Chloe  his  disappointment  about  Rab.  I 
have  been  terribly  disappointed  myself,  but  tried  not  to 
write  about  it,  indeed  I  have  tried  to  ignore  it  altogether. 
The  child  has  been  ill  and  got  somewhat  spoiled,  as  all  sick 
people  do  who  have  any  kind  of  good  nursing,  and  then  he  is 
so  weak  and  miserable  now.  Two  days  ago  Dab  rushed  into 
the  kitchen  in  great  excitement  and  said :  "An'  Chloe,  Rab 
is  de  very  debil  self  !  Not  de  debil  son,  nor  him  brudder,  but 
him  very  self." 

Chloe  was  delighted  to  sympathize  on  so  congenial  a  sub- 
ject and  went  on  :  — 

"Rab  los'  all  the  manners  he  carry  frum  here,  an'  he  ain't 
brought  nutting  back." 

Poor  little  Rab  during  his  five  weeks'  illness  has  got  spoiled, 

and  with  his  physical  weakness,  his  temper  gets  the  better  of 

him  more  and  more,  that  is  all. 

April  5. 

A  dear  little  cousin  arrived  this  morning  to  make  a  long- 
deferred  visit. 

I  found  Rab's  hand  looking  so  ugly  and  swollen  when  I 
went  to  dress  it  that  I  determined  to  send  him  to  Dr.  G.  in 
Gregory,  for  I  am  sure  it  needs  a  doctor's  care.  The  hospital 
has  been  closed  for  lack  of  funds  to  carry  it  on,  but  I  wrote 
to  the  doctor,  who  I  know  will  do  his  best  for  the  child.  I 
wrote  also  to  Jim  asking  him  to  keep  him  at  his  house,  and 
I  will  pay  him. 

While  I  was  writing  the  buckboard  was  being  got  and  I 
drove  Ruth  as  hard  as  possible  to  catch  the  mail  man.     I 


320  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

knew  he  had  left  Peaceville  by  that  time  and  I  had  to  calcu- 
late where  I  could  strike  him  on  the  road.  This  I  succeeded 
in  doing,  and  put  Rab  in  his  charge,  to  be  taken  to  the  doctor 
at  the  hospital  where  he  lives,  though  it  is  closed  to  patients. 
It  was  all  very  fatiguing  and  exciting,  and  my  heart  was 
very  sore  for  the  poor  little  piece  of  black  humanity,  who  has 
such  terrible  things  to  contend  against  within.  I  am  so  glad 
I  was  able  to  send  him  down  at  once.  It  has  all  broken  in 
somewhat  on  my  enjoyment  of  my  guests,  but  I  hope  now 
the  unusual  excitements  are  over. 

April  6. 

This  morning  when  I  came  downstairs  I  was  surprised  to 
see  the  table  not  prepared  for  breakfast,  as  Dab  usually  has 
finished  all  his  dining  room  work  by  the  time  I  get  down. 
Chloe  said  she  had  sent  Patty  out  to  knock  on  the  door  of  his 
house  twice  to  wake  him.  She  had  knocked  hard  but  he 
would  not  come  out. 

I  walked  out  to  the  house  to  see  if  he  was  ill,  opened  the 
door,  and  he  was  not  there.  His  valise  which  he  always  kept 
packed  was  gone,  also  the  fine  red  blanket,  which  I  bought 
back  for  him  when  he  sold  it  last  winter,  was  gone. 

Though  I  had  so  often  told  him  when  he  wanted  to  go 
just  to  tell  me,  and  I  would  write  a  paper  stating  his  capa- 
bilities and  good  qualities,  so  that  he  could  get  a  good  place, 
he  had  slipped  away  in  the  night !  I  was  quite  knocked 
down  by  this.  The  excitement  about  Rab  had  taken  a  good 
deal  out  of  me,  and  now  I  was  dismayed. 

The  house  is  full,  and  though  Patty  is  a  good  little  girl  and 
specially  eager  to  wait  on  table,  she  knows  very  little  and  my 
whole  time  during  a  meal  has  to  be  given  to  seeing  that  she 
does  not  lose  her  head,  and  do  something  very  unusual,  to 
say  the  least,  but  I  now  called  her  and  told  her  she  must  take 
charge  of  the  dining  room,  in  addition  to  her  other  work. 

She  showed  all  her  white  teeth  and  expressed  delight  at 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


321 


that.  I  showed  her  exactly  how  to  lay  the  breakfast  table 
and  what  dishes  to  use,  and  then  went  up  to  my  room  to 
compose  myself  before  the  family  came  down. 

Gibbie  having  determined  to  take  a  rest,  as  he  very  often 
does,  had  announced  himself  sick  and  Dab  had  been  taking 
care  of  the  horses  as  well 
as  the  cows.  Fortunately 
Gibbie  came  out  this 
morning,  but  when  he  came 
for  the  stable  key  I  found 
that  Dab  had  carried  it  off 
with  him,  also  the  poultry 
house  key.  They  were  tied 
together.  I  told  Gibbie 
the  keys  were  not  in  their 
usual  place,  and  asked  if 
he  could  manage  to  get  in 
the  stable  without  break- 
ing the  lock. 

He  answered  that  was 
very  easy,  and  proceeded  to  roll  the  wagon  with  the  rack  up 
to  the  stable  door,  climbed  into  the  loft  with  ease,  and 
thence  down  the  ladder  into  the  stable,  where  he  unbarred 
the  back  door.  I  was  a  most  interested  spectator,  for  now 
I  understand  how  the  horses  are  ridden  at  night,  when  the 
door  is  locked  and  the  key  hanging  on  its  hook  in  the  pantry. 
I  did  not  tell  Gibbie  that  Dab  had  the  keys ;  I  preferred  to 
let  him  think  I  had  mislaid  them. 

By  the  mail  at  11  o'clock  came  a  postal  addressed  to  me 
with  the  keys  attached.  I  am  truly  glad  Dab  had  the  de- 
cency to  send  them. 

April  7. 

A  long  and  humble  letter  from  Dab  making  his  apologies 
as  best  he  could  for  his  very  bad  conduct  and  thanking  me 


How  to  lay  the  breakfast  table. 


322  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

for  all  I  had  done  for  him  and  saying  he  had  no  fault  to  find 
with  me,  that  he  knew  if  he  had  come  to  tell  me  he  would 
never  have  gone,  intimating  that  it  was  with  members  of  his 
own  race  he  found  it  hard  to  get  on ;  said  he  saw  Rab  every 
day  and  his  hand  was  getting  better.  Pie  wound  up  by  beg- 
ging me  to  give  him  a  recommendation. 

Meantime  Patty  is  covering  herself  with  honors  and  we 
are  getting  on  very  well. 

My  strawberries  are  fine,  we  are  picking  four  quarts  every 
day.  Green  peas  are  also  bearing  well.  It  is  a  great  thing 
to  have  them  now  while  the  house  is  full.  We  had  the  first 
strawberries  on  April  11. 

Rained  hard  all  night,  but  cleared  beautifully  this  morning ; 
such  a  blessing  to  the  young  corn  the  rain  was.  L.  wanted 
to  see  Casa  Bianca,  so  we  drove  down  there  and  had  a  de- 
lightful day.  We  got  back  in  nice  time,  but  Gibbie  had  gone 
home,  so  I  had  to  take  out  the  horses  and  then  go  down  to  the 
barn-yard  to  get  out  feed,  as  Bonaparte  is  still  working  on  the 
house  at  Peaceville.  I  miss  Dab  terribly ;  he  was  so  quick 
and  always  so  ready  to  do  everything. 

L.  went  with  me  to  get  out  the  feed.  She  has  lived  in  a  city 
always,  and  it  must  all  seem  very  strange  to  her.  We  counted 
out  eighty-four  ears  of  corn  into  the  sack,  and  then  the'problem 
of  getting  it  moved  came  up.  It  was  still  raining,  and 
the  horses  were  eagerly  following  us,  almost  walking  over  us. 

L.  kept  them  off  with  the  lantern,  while  I  attempted  to 
drag  the  corn  along.  Just  then  Gibbie  strolled  up,  to  my  great 
relief. 

April  8. 

Drove  L.  to  Gregory  to  take  train.  She  has  kindly  offered 
to  take  charge  of  Rab  on  his  journey.  I  went  to  ask  Dr.  G. 
if  Rab's  hand  was  in  condition  for  him  to  go.  He  said  it  was, 
that  it  had  healed  very  rapidly,  being  perfectly  healthy,  and 
no  longer  needed  to  be  dressed  daily. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  323 

I  think  it  wise  to  send  Rab  back  to  the  institution  of  the 
worthy  Jenkins.  I  dare  not  leave  him  at  home  with  Chloe 
when  I  go  away,  as  I  must  do  in  ten  days  to  be  absent  a 
month,  for  there  is  no  telling  what  he  might  do.  As  Chloe 
expresses  it,  he  "discounts  her  altogether,"  and  this  craze 
he  has  for  firearms  makes  her  afraid  to  keep  him.  Under 
Jenkins's  charge  he  will  be  well  cared  for,  and  at  the  same 
time  kept  out  of  mischief  and  made  to  behave. 

I  wrote  to  Jim  yesterday  to  have  Rab  ready,  as  I  would 
call  for  him  this  afternoon,  and  as  I  drove  up  Hattie  came 
out  with  Rab's  valise,  and  he  followed  with  his  arm  in  a  sling, 
but  looking  much  better.  We  drove  rapidly  to  the  train, 
just  in  time  to  get  the  tickets  and  get  L.  and  her  protege  on 
the  train,  before  it  was  off. 

I  asked  Rab  as  we  drove  down  if  he  had  seen  Dab.  He 
said  he  had  very  often,  that  he  had  got  a  place  as  butler, 
where  he  was  getting  $5  a  week.  I  asked  where  it  was,  and 
after  the  train  left,  I  drove  to  the  house  and  asked  to  see  Dab. 

I  told  him  I  could  not  give  him  the  recommendation  I  had 
expected  to  give  him,  because  he  had  run  away  and  left  me  as 
he  had  done;  that  I  only  wanted  to  see  him  to  tell  him  to 
keep  the  place  he  had,  and  not  to  run  from  place  to  place. 
He  seemed  much  moved,  and  so  was  I.  I  sat  in  the  buck- 
board,  and  he  stood  by  the  hind  wheel,  so  that  I  had  to  turn 
to  look  at  him. 

I  gave  him  a  little  lecture,  telling  him  that  I  had  carried 
out  my  promise  to  his  dying  mother  as  far  as  I  could,  having 
taken  much  trouble  with  him,  as  well  as  being  put  to  a  good 
deal  of  expense,  because  of  that  promise,  and  that  now  he 
had  taken  the  matter  out  of  my  hands  by  leaving  me.  All  I 
demanded  of  him  was  that  he  should  lead  a  respectable  life 
and  be  industrious,  honest,  and  upright,  and  I  would  be  satis- 
fied. When  I  turned  to  look  at  him  the  tears  were  rolling 
down  his  cheeks  and  he  thanked  me  and  said  he  would  try. 


324  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

I  started  on  my  lonely  drive  of  fourteen  miles  about  6 
o'clock. 

My  thoughts  were  ample  company,  for  I  have  much  to 
plan  out. 

All  winter  I  have  been  looking  forward  with  great  pleasure 
to  a  visit  from  a  charming  English  friend  who  stayed  with  me 
once  a  few  years  ago.  She  has  made  a  trip  around  the 
world  with  her  maid  and  physician  and  was  coming  here  on 
her  way  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York,  but  after  a  visit 
in  Mexico,  for  some  reason  the  physician  thought  it  would 
be  unwise  for  her  to  come  to  this  remote  plantation,  so  far 
from  railroad,  telegraph,  and  I  suppose  he  thought  from 
civilization.  Mrs.  R.  wrote  to  tell  me  of  her  disappointment 
at  this  and  to  ask  me  to  make  her  a  visit  in  New  York  instead, 
and  begging  me  to  bring  Chloe  with  me.  This  royally 
generous  invitation  I  have  accepted,  and  my  mind  is  much 
occupied  as  how  to  arrange  for  the  care  of  everything  in  the 
absence  of  two  such  important  people  as  Chloe  and  myself. 


CHAPTER  X 

April  9. 

MY  wedding  day  thirty-six  years  ago  !  It  does  not  seem 
possible  that  there  can  be  one  atom  of  the  intensely 
pleasure  loving,  gay  slip  of  a  girl  left  in  the  philoso- 
pher who,  battered  and  bruised  by  life's  battle,  looks  with 
calm,  serene  eyes  on  the  stormy  path  behind  her  and  with  ab- 
solute faith  forward  to  the  sunset  hour.  It  does  not  seem  as 
though  the  ego  could  possibly  be  the  same.  Had  some  magic 
mirror  been  possible,  in  which  that  girl  could  have  been  shown 
herself,  and  her  solitary  life  at  the  end  of  forty  years,  she 
could  not  have  faced  life,  she  would  have  prayed  passionately 
for  death. 

Everything  she  specially  cared  for  and  valued  has  been 
taken  from  her,  the  things  she  specially  disliked  and  feared 
have  come  upon  her,  and  yet  all  that  is  great  and  noble  in 
life,  seems  nearer  to  her  now.  God  seems  to  have  turned  all 
the  evil  into  good,  all  the  mud  and  mire  into  gold,  and  there 
are  around  her  the  beautiful  mists  and  clouds  of  the  sunset, 
which  is  not  so  far  off  now.  So  does  the  Great  Father  fuse 
and  mould  and  change  in  His  mighty  workshop.  Thank  God 
for  His  alchemy. 

April  10. 

Spent  the  day  at  Casa  Bianca  sheep  trading.  I  am  no 
trader  and  should  have  some  one  else  to  do  these  things. 
I  am  always  afraid  of  taking  advantage  of  other  people, 
and  as  a  consequence  I  am  generally  a  severe  loser. 

My  sheep  are  fat  and  have  not  been  shorn  and  they  have 
been  a  paying  investment,  the  best  I  have  ever  had,  but  they 
are  being  stolen  steadily.  Last  Wednesday  we  counted 
twenty-four  sheep  and  fifteen  lambs,  and  to-day  I  could  only 

325 


320 


A    WOMAN   BICE  PLANTER 


count  twenty-three  sheep,  and  this  has  been  going  on  a  long 
time. 

There  is  one  splendid  ram  and  the  lambs  are  beauties,  but 
Capt.  M.  only  paid  me  $54.75  for  the  whole  lot.  I  also  sold 
two  cows  which  I  was  still  milking' for  $10  apiece.  I  need  the 
money  and  have  to  take  what  is  offered. 

April   11. 

Sent  Gibbie  yesterday  to  take  the  two  cows  I  sold  down  to 
the  ferry.  The  cows  are  very  gentle  so  that  I  never  thought  of 
any  trouble.  In  the  afternoon  went  out  to  ask  him  about  it. 
When  I  asked  what  time  he  reached  the  ferry  he 
seemed  much  embarrassed,  scratched  his  head  and 
stood  on  one  foot  and  then  the  other  and  finally 
said  he  never  got  down  to  the  ferry.  He  stop- 
*@fa  ped  to  talk  to  some  one  and  the  cows  were 
eating,  and  the  first  thing  he 
knew  they  had  got  away  in 
the  woods,  and  he  had  of 
course  pursued  them  with 
great  activity,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose, and  finally  gave  it  up, 
and  when  he  got  back  home 
found  them  waiting  at  the 
gate. 

'  So  that  has  all  to  be  done 
over,  and  I  have  to  write  and 
appoint  another  day  for  them  to  be  met  at  the  ferry.  It  is 
very  discouraging.  Nothing  that  I  cannot  personally  attend 
to  gets  done.  Poor  dear  old  Bonaparte  cannot  help ;  he 
can  only  denounce    and    condemn   "this  new  giniration," 

which  does  no  good  at  all. 

Cherokee,  April  12. 

Such  intense  excitement  pervades  this  household  that  it 
is  difficult  to   accomplish  anything.     The  last  two  weeks 


Joy  unspeakable. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  327 

have  been  very  full.  Corn  has  been  planted,  also  potatoes, 
and  land  prepared  for  cotton.  The  incubator  hatched  out  a 
splendid  lot  of  healthy  chicks. 

Besides  all  this  I  have  been  sewing  and  dressmaking,  for 
the  day  after  to-morrow  I  am  leaving  for  a  visit  to  New  York, 
and,  wonder  of  wonders,  Chloe  is  to  go  too  by  special  invi- 
tation. I  was  afraid  at  first  the  excitement  would  put  an 
end  to  her,  for  when  I  read  the  letter  of  invitation  she  seemed 
overcome. 

At  first  she  said  it  would  be  impossible  for  her  to  leave 
the  chickens,  and  who  would  take  care  of  the  house  and  yard 
while  she  was  gone  ?  No,  it  was  impossible.  But  I  ar- 
ranged to  get  Jim's  wife  to  take  charge  of  the  precious 
'"cubators,"  also  the  whole  poultry  yard,  and  Chloe  is  to 
go.  She  prides  herself  on  being  a  travelled  person,  having 
been  in  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  as  well  as  to  many 
different  parts  of  South  Carolina  and  having  gone  all  through 
the  public  buildings  in  the  capital  of  this  State,  but  the  idea 
of  going  to  New  York  and  having  to  pass  through  Washing- 
ton going  and  coming  —  it  seems  too  much. 

Besides  this  a  complete  outfit  had  to  be  got  for  the  journey. 
That  of  itself  was  joy  unspeakable.  My  own  preparations 
sink  into  insignificance  beside  the  magnitude  of  those  of  my 

good  Chloe. 

April  13. 

We  drove  to  Casa  Bianca,  where  we  had  lunch,  and  M.  and 
L.  left  us  and  drove  to  Gregory  to  take  the  train.  It  had 
been  an  ideal  day. 

Told  Nat  he  must  come  to  Cherokee  to-morrow  and  drive 
down  a  bunch  of  young  cattle,  as  the  pasture  there  is  splen- 
did and  I  have  only  two  cows,  while  at  Cherokee  the  pasture 
is  poor  and  I  have  twenty-four  head  of  cattle.  Nat  said 
he  could  not  possibly  bring  the  young  cattle  down,  that  they 
had  never  been  outside  of  the  enclosure  at  Cherokee  and  that 


328  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

as  soon  as  they  got  out  they  would  all  scatter  in  the  woods 
and  be  lost. 

He  has  always  been  a  good  hand  with  cattle  and  has  three 
cows  and  calves  and  a  pair  of  oxen  at  Casa  Bianca,  as  sleek 
and  fat  as  possible.  I  was  surprised  at  his  refusal  and  told 
him  he  could  get  one,  or  even  two,  boys  to  help  him  and  I 
would  pay  for  it,  but  still  he  insisted  he  could  not  do  it. 

At  last  I  said,  "If  you  have  any  trouble  in  getting  off  with 

them,  I  will  get  on  my  horse  and  help  drive  them  myself." 

At  once  he  brightened  up  and  said:    "Bery  well,  miss,  I'll 

cum  for  dem  to-morrer."     His  refusal  and  the  consequent 

discussion  delayed  us  greatly  and  we  were  very  late  getting 

home. 

April  14. 

Yesterday  at  nine  Nat  came  for  the  cattle.  I  went  out 
and  had  the  good  Martha,  who  is  as  quiet  as  a  cow  can  be, 
roped  so  as  to  act  as  pioneer  in  conducting  the  others  down. 
I  am  milking  her  and  am  sorry  to  send  her  away,  but  she 
was  born  and  reared  at  Casa  Bianca  and  is  always  over- 
joyed to  go  there,  so  that  nothing  will  make  her  leave  the 
road. 

Equinox,  the  beautiful  young  bull,  with  John  Smith,  the 
two-year-old  steer,  and  Ideala,  a  beauty  three  years  old,  and 
Pocahontas,  Virginia,  and  Queenie  were  the  party.  They 
are  all  very  gentle  and  started  out  of  the  front  gate  quietly 
and  I  returned  to  the  house,  but  before  I  had  taken  my  seat 
at  the  sewing  machine  Nat  sent  for  me. 

"Miss,"  he  said,  "yu  know  yu  promise  yu  go  too  en  help 
me." 

"Oh,  Nat,  that  was  only  in  case  there  was  any  trouble.  I 
only  said  that  for  fun.  I  knew  they  would  not  give  any 
trouble.     See  how  quietly  they  went  out  of  the  gate." 

"But,  miss,  I  neber  would  'a'  cum  ef  yu  neber  say  so, 'case 
I  know  dem  cows  gwine  loss.     En,  miss,  yu  done  promise." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  329 

They  know  a  promise  is  sacred  with  me.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  tell  Green  to  put  the  saddle  on  Romola 
at  once,  and  to  prepare  for  the  sixteen-mile  ride. 

It  was  very  provoking.  I  had  some  sewing  which  was 
most  important,  and  I  have  so  few  days  at  home  and  with 
D.  now,  but  I  told  Nat  to  go  on  with  the  cattle  and  I  would 
catch  up  with  them  in  a  few  moments. 

Green  is  slow  about  saddling,  so  they  had  gone  about  half 
a  mile  beyond  the  avenue  gate  when  I  came  upon  Nat  alone 
in  the  road  with  Martha,  who  was  going  round  and  round, 
while  Nat  used  his  long  lash  upon  her.  I  called  to  him  to 
stop  at  once,  and  I  asked  where  the  others  were.  He  an- 
swered in  an  I-told-you-so  voice  :  — 

"In  de  'oods,  en  Mahta  want  to  git  dey  too." 

He  had  sent  the  two  boys  after  the  young  cattle  instead 
of  tying  Martha  to  a  tree  and  going  too.  I  said  nothing, 
but  rode  out  into  the  woods,  and  after  some  little  trouble 
brought  them  back  into  the  road,  where  by  great  vigilance 
and  activity  we  managed  to  keep  them. 

As  they  were  unaccustomed  to  travel  they  went  very  slowly 
and  we  had  often  to  stop  in  shady  places  and  let  them  rest. 
When  they  came  to  a  stream  of  water  crossing  the  road  they 
would  lie  down,  and  there  was  nothing  but  wait. 

However,  all  the  irritation  of  giving  up  my  plans  at  home 
passed  from  me  and  I  soon  was  thoroughly  enjoying  God's 
beautiful  world  —  the  fresh  air,  the  lovely  wild  flowers,  the 
birds  and  bees,  all  rejoicing  in  the  return  of  spring  with  its 
promise  of  fruition  —  it  was  all  a  joy. 

At  last  we  got  the  party  safely  through  the  gate  at  Casa 
Bianca,  and  when  they  came  to  the  turn  where  the  avenue 
runs  along  the  river  they  felt  rewarded  for  all  their  trials, 
such  thick,  rich  grass  under  their  feet,  cool  shade  above  them, 
and  that  great  stream  of  water  beside  them. 

I  had  not  brought  the  house  key,  to  my  sorrow,  for  there 


330  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

I  keep  a  demijohn  of  artesian  water  and  a  box  of  crackers  — 
the  well  is  so  little  used  that  I  do  not  like  to  drink  the  water. 
I  turned  my  face  homeward  very  hungry  and  very  thirsty. 
As  I  rode  down  the  avenue  I  saw  a  great  mulberry  tree 
loaded  with  ripe  fruit.  With  delight  I  rode  under  the 
branches  and  satisfied  both  hunger  and  thirst  and  went  on 
my  way  refreshed. 

It  had  taken  so  long  to  get  the  cattle  down  there,  what  with 
the  various  stoppages,  that  it  was  5  o'clock  when  I  got  home. 
Found  D.  had  been  very  anxious  about  me  and  was  much 
surprised  to  see  me  so  little  exhausted  by  the  day.  Chloe 
gave  us  a  delicious  dinner  and  I  was  not  too  tired  to  walk 
over  the  fields  with  Bonaparte  and  give  him  directions  for 
his  guidance  during  my  approaching  absence. 

Everything  is  now  about  ready  and  D.  V.  we  leave  here 
next  Wednesday.  I  never  can  keep  up  my  diary  while  away 
and  will  not  attempt  it. 

I  have  taken  a  little  boy  of  8,  Elihu's  son,  to  take  the  place 
which  Rab  and  Dab  have  successively  occupied  for  years 
about  the  yard.  I  cannot  afford  to  keep  a  man-servant  at 
the  pineland.  This  little  boy's  name  is  Green,  but  he  is  so 
strong  and  capable  that  I  call  him  Goliah.  He  did  not  like 
it  at  first,  not  until  I  told  him  Goliah  was  a  giant.  I  asked 
him  if  he  had  no  nickname,  as  I  never  could  remember  to 
call  him  Green.  He  answered  gravely  that  he  had  a  nick- 
name, and  when  I  asked  what  it  was  he  said  "Isaiah."  A 
most  unusual  nickname,  but  it  seemed  to  open  the  way  for 
me,  so  I  said  :  — 

"My  nickname  for  you  will  be  Goliah,  because  you  are  so 
strong." 

Poor  little  Goliah  was  in  rags  and  I  have  made  him  some 
clothes,  but  my  forte  is  not  tailoring  and  I  could  not  get  just  the 
stuff  I  wanted  for  him.  He  speaks  of  himself  as  my  "  'ostler." 
I  speak  of  him  as  my  "man  of  all  work,"  for  such  he  is. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


331 


The  church  in  Peaceville. 


Sunday,  April  15. 

After  service  I  went  over  to  my  house  in  Peaceville,  which 
is  just  opposite  the  church,  and  took  out  four  queer  little, 
old-fashioned  trunks  full  of  papers  which  I  have  kept  out 
there  until  now.  Two  of  the  trunks  are  covered  with  skins 
with  the  hair  on  and  studded  with  brass  nails.  One  has  the 
initials  "E.  F.  B."  in  brass 
on  the  top. 

They  all  contain  very 
old  papers,  among  them 
grants  to  my  ancestors  for 
6000  acres  of  land.  These 
are  very  much  the  worse 
for  age  and  I  am  going  to 
take  them  on  to  Washing- 
ton to  see  if  I  can  have 
them  repaired.     I  scarcely 

think  it  will  be  possible  as  the  grant  to  my  great-great-grand- 
mother, Esther  Allston,  is  falling  to  pieces,  and  the  seal  seems 
in  danger  of  crumbling.     The  date  is  December  21,  1769. 

I  did  not  know  the  grants  were  in  these  old  trunks,  which  I 
was  gradually  looking  over.  I  kept  them  at  Peaceville  be- 
cause the  summer  days  are  longer  and  more  suitable  for 
reading  old  letters  and  papers.  I  have  been  urged  by  two 
publishers  to  write  all  I  can  remember  from  my  earliest 
years.  It  seems  to  me  absurd  for  one  who  has  lived  such  a 
secluded  life  to  write  her  reminiscences,  but  I  would  find  it 
most  interesting  work,  as  it  would  involve  the  reading  over 
of  old  letters.  I  have  every  letter  written  to  me  since  I  was 
10  years  old.  If  the  pressure  of  daily  anxiety  for  the  where- 
withal to  carry  on  the  work  is  ever  lightened  I  think  I  will 
try  to  do  it  just  for  my  own  satisfaction,  for  I  do  not  think 
it  would  ever  be  a  profitable  venture  for  publication. 

I  have  always  kept  a  diary  of  some  sort.     When  I  was 


332  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

married  and  was  ambitious  to  become  a  fine  housekeeper, 
though  I  could  never  hope  to  rival  my  belle-mere,  who  had  a 
genius  for  housekeeping  besides  being  a  brilliantly  clever 
woman,  I  kept  a  "Diary  of  Dinners,"  in  which  I  recorded 
every  culinary  triumph  of  my  belle-mere,  with  whom  we 
lived  for  two  years.  Then  when  thrown  upon  my  own  re- 
sources, I  had  this  delightful  guide  to  the  possibilities  of  the 
season  as  to  dinners. 

It  was  not  so  difficult  then  to  provide  because  we  raised 
great  quantities  of  poultry,  turkeys,  and  ducks  and  guinea 
fowl  as  well  as  chickens,  for  the  negroes  did  not  steal  things 
then  as  they  do  now  ;  they  all  raised  an  abundance  of  poultry 
themselves  and  so  the  temptation  to  steal  was  not  so  great. 
Now  they  raise  less  and  less  poultry  every  year.  This  comes 
from  their  selling  all  their  chickens  and  eggs  and  buying 
canned  salmon,  sardines,  biscuit,  and  ginger  snaps. 

April  16. 

Left  home  at  11 :  30,  drove  to  Woodstock  for  luncheon  with 
my  brother  and  then  on  to  the  station.  There  the  two  charm- 
ing little  travelling  mates  I  am  to  have  met  me.  Son  is  4|  and 
Sister  2\.  Their  fair  hair,  lovely  brown  eyes,  and  piquant  little 
retrousse  noses  were  a  joy  to  watch.  Everything  interested 
them ;  nothing  escaped  them.  Their  father  went  with  us  as 
far  as  Lanes,  where  we  changed  cars  and  took  the  sleeper. 

I  thought  this  would  cause  a  breakdown  and  tears  when  he 
left  them,  but  there  was  none.  He  had  provided  them  with 
a  liberal  supply  of  bananas  and  candy,  which  rather  alarmed 
me,  but  occupied  their  full  attention,  and  with  the  wonders 
of  the  transforming  of  the  seats  into  accommodations  for  the 
night  there  was  no  space  for  homesickness  or  sadness. 
When  I  proposed  bed  they  were  eagerly  acquiescent,  and  Son 
was  most  efficient  in  producing  all  that  was  necessary  from 
the  tightly  packed  valise. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  333 

The  greatest  problem  was  to  get  off  Sister's  little  dress. 
The  dear  mother  wishing  to  save  me  trouble  had  made 
the  little  travelling  frock  of  a  pattern  which  called  for  no 
buttons ;  it  was  simply  slipped  over  the  head,  but  it  was  so 
close  a  fit  that  it  seemed  to  me  if  I  pulled  it  rashly  off,  Sister's 
dear  little  tip  tilted  nose  would  go  with  it.  Son  at  last  said  : 
"Now,  Sister,  don't  cry;  I  just  have  to  give  it  a  jerk  over 
your  nose ;  it  will  hurt  some,  but  not  too  much." 

So  Sister  braced  herself  to  stand  the  jerk  and  off  it  came, 

leaving  her  little  pansy  face  unhurt  but  very  rosy.     I  tucked 

them  into  the  lower  berth,  opposite  mine,  and  after  a  few 

suppressed  ripples  of  laughter  have  not  heard  a  sound  from 

them. 

April  17. 

We  reached  Washington  on  time.     The  dear  little  children 

slept  like  tops  all  night.     I  woke  them  at  7.     Son  again 

proved  himself  a  most  accomplished  nurse-maid,  and  Sister 

emerged  from  the  train  looking  very  dainty  and  fresh.     Son 

insisted  on  struggling  to  carry  their  heavy  valise,  but  was 

finally  persuaded  to  let  the  porter  take  it  with  mine  out  to 

the  gate,  where  my  dear  sister  was  waiting,  and  the  children 

uttered  a  cry  of  delight  as  they  recognized  their  beautiful 

aunt  with  her  husband,  their  unknown  uncle,  who  had  come 

over  from  Philadelphia  to  meet  them.     We  parted  company 

here,  and  I  could  truthfully  say  they  had  not  given  me  the 

smallest  trouble,  but  on  the  contrary,  had  been  a  genuine 

pleasure. 

The  Camps,  June  11. 

I  left  Carollton  on  the  4  p.m.  train.  En  route  anxiety 
came  to  me  as  to  whether  I  had  given  my  letter,  telling  when 
I  would  reach  Gregory,  time  enough  to  precede  me.  As  I 
neared  my  destination  I  felt  more  and  more  sure  that  I  had 
not.  If  I  had  mailed  it  myself  it  might  have  arrived,  but 
I  gave  it  to  the  children  who  were  playing  in  the  garden  and 


334  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

asked  them  to  drop  it  in  the  box.  A  child's  hand  is  almost 
as  dangerous  a  place  for  a  letter  as  a  man's  pocket,  and  I  had 
an  inward  conviction  there  would  be  no  one  to  meet  me  at  the 
train. 

I  asked  the  negro  porter  to  look  out  and  see  if  the  phaeton 
was  there  to  meet  me  when  we  arrived  at  10  p.m.  He  came 
back  and  told  me  he  did  not  see  it.  Then  I  asked  him  to 
engage  a  hack  to  take  me  out  the  three  miles  to  this  pineland, 
where  I  was  to  spend  the  night  and  make  a  little  visit  to  C. 
By  the  time  he  had  made  sure  there  was  no  one  to  meet  me 
and  reported  this  to  me,  every  vehicle  had  gone  except  a  huge 
omnibus  with  a  large  pair  of  mules  driven  by  a  small  darky 
who  looked  about  10.  He  was  eager  to  undertake  to  get  me 
out  to  the  Camps  for  a  small  sum. 

"Do  you  know  the  way  ?"  I  asked. 

"Yes'um.     Oh,  yes'um  ;  know  um  well." 

So  I  clmbed  into  my  chariot,  where  a  feeble  lantern  hung. 
A  still  smaller  urchin  slammed  the  door,  and  I  started.  I 
must  say  I  felt  I  was  doing  a  rash  thing,  for  I  was  not  at  all 
familiar  with  the  road  myself,  and  by  this  time  it  was  11 
o'clock.  As  long  as  we  were  within  the  radius  of  the  electric 
lights  of  the  town  I  didn't  feel  so  anxious,  but  when  we  got 
into  the  blackness  of  darkness  I  began  to  think  how  foolish 
I  was  not  to  have  gone  to  a  hotel  for  the  night. 

Every  now  and  then  my  Jehu  would  climb  up  to  the  front 
window,  where  I  stood  peering  out  into  the  night,  and  ask, 
"  You  t'ink  we  git  cley  yit  ?  "  I  could  faintly  make  out  houses 
at  intervals  along  the  way  on  each  side  and  was  sure  we  still 
had  a  long  way  to  go.  At  last  when  we  got  into  a  denser 
growth  of  pines  and  I  could  see  nothing  I  called  to  him : 
"Stop,  and  I  will  walk  the  rest  of  the  way  if  you  will  bring 
the  lantern  !" 

Greatly  relieved,  I  think,  for  he  began  to  fear  he  was  to 
drive  all  night,  he  got  down,  charged  the  other  mite  not  to 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  335 

let  the  mules  stir,  a  command  which  seemed  to  me  superfluous, 
for  they  were  only  too  glad  to  stop,  and  with  much  difficulty 
undid  the  wire  which  held  the  lantern  in  place,  and  we  started. 
I  knew  that  if  we  had  come  to  the  place  to  turn  in  to  C.'s 
house  there  was  a  narrow  bridge  with  a  sharp  turn  which  it 
would  be  difficult  for  the  very  large  vehicle  and  mules  to 
make  safely.  After  a  little  wandering  around,  most  of  the 
houses  being  in  darkness,  I  saw  a  light  in  a  house,  and  as  we 
approached  the  fence,  the  dogs  gave  tongue  and  I  knew  I  was 
getting  to  the  right  place.  The  dogs  are  fierce,  so  I  stood 
and  called  for  some  one  to  come,  rejoicing  that  this  family 
were  not  as  early  in  their  habits  as  their  neighbors. 

My  little  guide  now  resumed  his  confident  air  and  said : 
"I  t'ink,  ma'am,  you  ought  to  pay  me  mo'n  I  charge  you  fust 
time." 

"Oh,  boy,"  I  said,  "for  this  voyage  of  discovery  I  will  pay 
you  double  what  you  charged;  here  it  is.  Now,  tell  me,  were 
you  ever  here  before  ? ' ' 

"Not  to  dis  place,  ma'am,  but  onst  las'  year  I  bin  about 
halfway  here,  but  I  didn't  bin  a  dribe,  I  bin  on  me  foot." 

I  felt  that  the  Providence  which  is  said  specially  to  pro- 
tect fools  and  children  had  been  with  us.  I  felt  anxious  as  to 
how  the  house  on  wheels  was  to  be  turned  in  the  narrow  road 
with  a  deep  ditch  on  each  side,  and  proceeded  to  offer  some 
suggestions,  but  this  individual  of  resources  stopped  me  by 
saying,  "Needn't  fret,  ma'am.  I  onderstand  dribe,"  and 
I  was  free  to  enjoy  the  pleasant  welcome  that  awaited  me 
within.  C.  had  received  no  letter  from  me  and  had  no  idea  I 
was  coming. 

Peaceville,  June  14. 

Got  back  from  my  delightful  holiday  last  evening.  I  stopped 
on  my  drive  from  the  Camps  at  Cherokee  to  see  how  every- 
thing was.  Found  my  good  old  Bonaparte  in  deep  distress  ; 
his  faithful  and  devoted  wife  died  two  weeks  ago. 


336  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

They  had  lived  together  happily  fifty-three  years  and  he  is 
crushed.  He  cried  like  a  child  on  seeing  me.  I  gave  him  my 
earnest  sympathy.  I'm  so  sorry  her  illness  and  death  should 
have  come  while  I  was  away.  In  broken  words  he  told  me 
what  a  surprise  it  was  to  him  ;  he  never  thought  "Liz  could 
die  en  lef  him."  When  a  working-man  loses  a  good  wife  he  is 
indeed  bereft ;  his  companion,  helpmeet,  cook,  washer,  seam- 
stress, mender,  all  gone  at  one  fell  swoop,  and  he  is  left  for- 
lorn. 

I  shall  myself  miss  Lizette  very  much.  There  were  certain 
things  she  always  did  in  the  sausage  making  and  Christmas 
preparations.  I  always  meant  to  get  her  to  tell  me  all  she 
remembered  and  to  write  it  down.  She  belonged  to  a  family 
much  considered  by  my  father  and  by  his  parents  before  him. 
They  were  distinguished  for  loyalty,  fidelity,  and  honesty, 
and  took  great  pride  in  their  distinction  as  a  family. 

Lizette's  mother,  Maum  Maria,  was  our  nurse  and  her 
father,  old  Daddy  Moses,  could  be  trusted  with  anything. 
Put  gold,  silver,  provisions,  anything  in  his  charge  and  it  was 
safe.  His  sense  of  responsibility  was  sacred  —  alas,  alas,  to 
find  such  a  one  now  !  Some  of  his  descendants  are  very 
smart,  but  none  has  just  his  character. 

One  of  his  sons,  William  Baron,  who  had  been  our  third 
house  servant,  I  mean  in  rank,  there  being  two  men  above 
him,  made  quite  a  name  for  himself  as  a  caterer  and  steward 
of  the  club  in  Charleston  after  the  war,  and  one  of  his  great- 
grandsons  Sam  Grice  (Lizette  and  Bonaparte's  grandson)  is 
a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  educated  in  a 
church  school  here  and  when  there  was  a  call  for  a  boy  of  high 
character  to  be  taken  and  to  be  educated  by  the  church  he 
was  chosen  and  proved  most  satisfactory  in  every  way,  and 
he  passed  a  remarkably  fine  examination  in  Greek,  Latin,  and 
Hebrew  before  his  ordination. 

He  used  to  visit  his  grandparents  every  year,  but  since  he 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  337 

has  been  ordained  priest  he  has  not  been  here,  as  he  has  mar- 
ried and  has  work.  He  is  the  pride  and  joy  of  his  grand- 
parents' heart,  but  there  is  always  a  little  drawback  in  the  fact 
that  they  are  uncompromising  Methodists  and  they  feel  he 
has  deserted  their  church. 

For  the  present  Bonaparte's  usefulness  is  quite  gone,  even 
his  capacity  to  do  anything  with  his  hands,  and  he  cannot  stay 
in  his  house,  has  to  go  over  to  stay  at  his  son's,  a  mile  away. 
He  seemed  to  feel  that  now  I  had  come  home  things  would 
be  easier. 

Chloe  came  home  two  weeks  ahead  of  me  so  as  to  accom- 
plish the  move  from  the  plantation  to  the  pineland,  and  I 
found  everything  comfortably  arranged  for  me,  a  nice  dinner 
and  no  bad  news. 

My  delightful  new  possession,  a  most  high-bred  and  dis- 
tinguished Scottish  terrier,  MacDuff,  which  I  sent  home  with 
her,  met  me  with  enthusiasm.  He  was  a  present  from  my 
charming  friend  and  hostess  and  is  going  to  be  a  great  pleas- 
ure to  me.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  him,  he  reminds  one 
of  so  many  different  wild  beasts,  all  the  time  being  strangely 
human. 

After  dinner  Chloe  brought  out  a  beautiful  fruit-cake  which 
she  had  made  for  my  birthday.  She  seemed  afraid  I  might 
accuse  her  of  extravagance  and  assured  me  she  had  only 
used  up  the  odds  and  ends  of  fruit  which  were  left  in  the  store- 
room and  the  fresh  butter  and  fresh  eggs  which  I  was  not  at 
home  to  eat.  I  was  delighted  and  praised  her  very  much 
for  her  cleverness  and  thought ;  seeing  me  looking  in  the 
silver  drawer  for  the  cake  knife,  she  added  hastily:  — 

"Mind,  Miss  Pashuns,  I  ain't  tell  yu  fu'  cut  um  till  yu 
hab  kump'ny." 

So  I  said,  "That  is  very  wise,  Chloe ;  put  it  away  until  we 
have  company,"  and  she  removed  it  with  great  agility,  but 
it  was  a  disappointment,  for  I  have  got  accustomed  to  having 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


a  great  many  nice  things  all  the  time  recently.  I  know 
it  is  going  to  be  hard  to  force  myself  back  to  the  great  econ- 
omy I  have  felt  necessary  and  practised  for  the  past  year. 

June  16. 

Rose  at  5  :  20  o'clock  and  had  breakfast  early.     That  is  one 

of  the  unexpected  results  of  Chloe's  travel ;    she  is  much 

earlier  in  the  morning,  which  is  a  great  comfort ;    that  is 

the  only  cool  time,  and  I  am  so  anxious  for  Jim  to  get  off  to 

his  work  at  6 :  30  o'clock  every  clay ;  it  is  much 

better  for  man  and  beast  to  start  the  ploughing 

very  early,  and   then  knock  off  for  the  hottest 

hours  and  plough  again  in  the  afternoon. 

The  season  has  been  hard  on  all  crops ;  a  severe 
drought  after  the  late  frost,  so  that  it  was  hard 
for  seeds  to  come  up.  I  have  nice  snap  beans 
and  corn  from  the  garden  and  soon  will  have 
tomatoes.  The  cotton  and  corn  in  the  field 
look  poorly,  the  watermelons  need  work,  but 
I  hope  they  will  be  abundant. 
Chloe's  visit  to  New  York  is  a  subject  of 
immense  and  unending  interest  to 
every  one.  She  spends  her  time 
narrating  to  white  and  black  all 
she  has  seen.  She  brought  most 
carefully  selected  little  presents 
for  every  one.  How  she  managed 
I  do  not  know. 
The  truth  is  Chloe  was  a  great  success  at  the  North ;  the 
height  of  her  white  turban,  the  width  and  length  of  her  white 
apron,  the  classically  disposed  white  kerchief  crossed  over 
her  ample  form,  the  large  gold  hoop  earrings  and  her  Mona 
Lisa  smile  as  she  dropped  a  curtsy  to  any  guest  appearing 
at  the  door  of  my  sitting  room  at  the  St.  Regis  impressed  those 
unaccustomed  to  it  very  much. 


Chloe  was  a  great  success 
at  the  North. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  339 

Her  ready  answers  to  all  questions  were  most  discreet.  A 
friend  of  mine  asking  her  what  she  had  seen  in  her  short  stop 
in  Washington  said,  "Did  you  see  the  President  ?" 

"No,  ma'am,  I  ain't  see  de  Presidence,  but  I  see  de  gold 
pianner,"  that  piece  of  furniture  of  the  White  House  seeming 
the  full  equal  in  interest  and  grandeur  of  the  head  of  the 
nation. 

Chloe's  face  during  Buffalo  Bill's  Wild  West  Show  was  a 
study.  She  would  not  give  way  to  surprise  of  any  sort,  but 
occasionally  I  felt  a  violent  punch  in  my  back  when  Chloe's 
excitement  had  reached  a  point  where  some  action  was 
necessary  and  she  was  afraid  I  might  miss  something  —  we 
were  in  a  box.  The  presence  of  none  but  white  servants  was 
very  unexpected  and  unaccountable  to  Chloe,  but  she  made 
no  sign.  She  spoke  with  pride  of  the  table  she  had  to  herself 
and  how  attentive  every  one  was.     She  said  :  — 

"Miss  Pashuns,  I  never  hurry  fu'  eat.  I  look  'roun'  en 
enjoy  meself.  Fust  thing  I  had  fu'  brekfust,  I  had  a  oringe. 
I  jes'  wait  en  res'  meself  till  I  see  de  lady  to  de  nex'  table  cut 
she  oringe  een  half  en  tek  de  spoon  en  eat  um  wid  de  spoon, 
den  I  dun  de  same,  but  I  neber  let  um  see  I  watch  um. 

"Den  de  gentleman  tek  dat  plate  way,  en  bring  some 
hom'ny  een  a  saucer.  Den  I  watch  de  lady  en  see  um 
put  shuger  on  de  hom'ny  en  por  milk  on,  en  I  done  de  same. 
Den  de  gen'leman  tek  dat  'way  en  bring  me  sum  aig,  but  I 
tell  um  'Thank  yo',  sah,  but  yu  needn't  truble  yo'self  to 
bring  me  no  aig,  kase  I  don't  eat  aig,  neither  no  mutton 
kase  I  don't  eat  clat  neecler.'  I  didn't  like  him  to  hav'  de 
trubble  fo'  bring  um  en  tek  um  back." 

The  second  day  she  was  there  she  was  quite  agitated. 

"Miss  Pashuns,"  she  said,  "I  'most  had  a  accidence.  W'en 
I  git  een  de  allivatu  de  nyung  man  staat  off  mos'  too  quick, 
un  lik'  to  t'row  me  down,  en  'e  was  dat  skeer  till  'e  trimble  en 
'e  ketch  me  a'm  en  'e  say   'Is  yu  hurt?'  en  I  mek  ansuh, 


340  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

'No,  sa,  I  ain't  hurt/  den  'e  say,  'Please  don't  tell  no  one.  I 
hope  yu  ain't  hurt,  fu'  dat  would  git  me  in  big  trubble.'  Den 
I  promise  I  wouldn't  tell." 

On  the  way  home  Chloe  stopped  several  days  with  my 
sister  in  Washington,  who  took  her  all  over  the  public  build- 
ings. She  saw  a  great  deal  that  I  never  have  seen  because 
I  always  have  so  many  other  things  I  want  to  do  while  in 
Washington. 

When  she  was  being  taken  through  the  Capitol  and  saw  in 
the  great  hall  the  statues  of  distinguished  men  she  went 
round  and  examined  each  one  very  carefully,  then  came  to 
where  L.  was  sitting  waiting  for  her,  and  said  in  a  low  tone 
very  wistf  ully  :  — ■ 

"Miss  Luise,  Ole  Maussa  ain't  yere." 

When  L.  answered  :  "No,  Chloe,  papa's  statue  is  not  here," 
she  heaved  a  sigh  of  deep  disappointment. 

"Ole  Maussa"  to  Chloe  was  the  greatest  man  in  the  world 
and  she  thought  less  of  the  Capitol  when  she  did  not  find  him. 

When  any  one  treats  her  with  scant  courtesy  or  intrudes 
on  her  feelings  in  any  way  she  is  in  the  habit  of  explaining  : 
"My  master  was  de  Guv'ner  en  I  kno'  how  tu  behave."  We 
showed  her  the  family  name  in  the  ceiling  of  the  beautiful 
library  building,  telling  her  it  was  the  name  of  Uncle  Wash- 
ington, whose  bust  was  in  the  dining  room  at  home.  After 
craning  her  neck  for  a  long  time  her  small  book-learning  en- 
abled her  to  make  it  out  for  herself  and  she  was  greatly 
pleased. 

Chloe  has  been  made  very  proud  and  happy  by  the  gradua- 
tion of  her  granddaughter  Clara  with  great  eclat.  She  is 
only  16  and  very  small  and  childish  looking,  but  she  took  her 
diploma  and  made  a  very  fine  speech.  Chloe  told  me,  when 
the  principal  came  to  speak  he  said  :  — 

"For  five  years  the  name  at  the  head  of  every  class  she  was 
in,  was  Clara  Galant  and  not  a  black  mark  against  it." 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  341 

"She  was  dressed  very  fine  een  a  w'ite  silk  net,  a  twenty- 
dollar  frock,  en  w'ite  shoes  en  a  big  w'ite  bow  on  'e  head,  en 
everybody  say  'e  speak  butiful  en  dem  was  surprise."  I 
was  greatly  surprised  to  hear  all  this  and  very  much  pleased. 
Bonaparte  has  a  grandson  who  has  distinguished  himself, 
passing  the  test  examinations  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew 
and  is  a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  is  now  in 
Virginia.  That  has  given  me  much  pleasure,  and  now  to  have 
Chloe's  little  granddaughter  distinguish  herself  is  very  nice ; 
and  dear,  faithful  Chloe  is  so  proud  and  happy.  Clara  re- 
ceived very  handsome  presents  from  people  in  Gregory,  two 
gold  pieces  of  $10  each,  a  silver  set  of  writing  implements, 
and  many  more.  I  suppose  people  were  anxious  to  show  their 
appreciation  of  her  faithful  good  work  in  school. 

The  house  looks  so  fresh  and  clean  in  its  new  coat  of  white- 
wash and  feels  so  solid  and  unshakable  after  its  thorough 
repairing  that  I  feel  as  though  it  was  a  palace.  My  dear 
Chloe  has  brought  out  all  the  pictures  and  books  she  thinks  I 
would  like  to  have.  Her  selections  always  amuse  me. 
" Forty  Days  of  Lent"  is  one  book  prominent,  and  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Spain  in  bridal  array  hold  the  place  of  honor 
over  the  mantelpiece  !  After  all  it  is  good  to  get  home, 
though  it  may  not  be  a  bed  of  roses ;  there  dwell  your  Lares 
and  Penates,  and  there  only.  Jim  reported  Chloe's  other 
granddaughter,  Josephine,  as  very  ill ;  she  has  a  baby 
three  weeks  old.  I  told  Chloe  she  must  go  down  at  once. 
She  began  to  say,  "Impossible  to  lef  yu,  Miss  Pashuns,  wid 
nobuddy  but  clis  gal."  But  I  would  not  listen.  I  ordered 
Jim  to  put  Ruth  in  the  buckboard  at  once  and  told  Goliah  to 
make  himself  decent  to  drive  her. 

It  was  impossible  to  get  her  off  till  after  5.  I  fear  from 
what  Jim  says  there  is  no  hope  for  Josephine.  He  said  they 
were  giving  her  an  ice  bath  when  he  left  she  was  so  burned 
up  with  fever. 


342  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

I  took  MacDuff  to  sleep  in  the  house  as  there  was  no  one 
anywhere  near  the  house.  I  have  been  practising  a  good  deal 
lately  and  to-night  played  for  two  hours. 

June  20. 

A  quiet  night  alone  with  MacDuff.  He  behaved  very  well, 
though  he  does  not  like  staying  in  the  house  as  Mops  used 
to  do.  When  I  tried  him  before  he  walked  about  all  night, 
making  so  much  noise  that  I  could  not  sleep. 

Lizette  cooked  some  hominy  and  corn-bread  very  well 
and  boiled  an  egg,  so  that  I  had  a  good  breakfast.  Chloe  re- 
turned at  8  o'clock,  just  as  I  had  finished.  Poor  little  Jose- 
phine died  ten  minutes  before  she  got  there,  but  she  had  the 
satisfaction  of  sitting  up  with  the  body  last  night,  and  left 
early  this  morning  to  give  orders  here  about  digging  the 
grave,  as  she  begged  them  to  "bring  her  home  en  put  her  by 
her  mudder."  She  told  me  the  "castle"  was  ordered  very 
fine  and  that  she  was  beautifully  dressed.  She  was  wonder- 
fully composed.     I  told  her  to  lie  down  and  rest  at  once. 

Then  she  confided  to  me  that  she  had  nothing  suitable  to 
wear  at  the  funeral.  Nothing  black  but  a  silk  trimmed  with 
lace.  I  went  and  ransacked  all  my  belongings  and  at  last 
found  something  that  I  thought  would  do.  Unfortunately 
Chloe  is  formed  in  a  more  generous  mould  and  the  present 
cut  of  skirts  makes  it  difficult  to  stretch  them,  but  Jim's  wife, 
Hetty,  happened  to  be  here  and  she  is  clever  with  her  needle, 
so  she  undertook  to  enlarge  the  skirt,  while  I  got  a  black  hat 
and  trimmed  it  and  found  a  suitable  veil,  so  that  by  the  time 
the  funeral  procession  arrived  from  Gregory,  Chloe  looked 
very  nice. 

To-night  before  going  to  bed  she  gave  me  an  account  of  it 
with  great  pride.  The  "castle"  was  beautiful  and  four 
carriages  and  three  buggies  came  up  from  Gregory  behind  the 
"hurst."  One  of  Josephine's  aunts  has  adopted  the  baby. 
I  wanted  Chloe  to  take  it,  but  she  does  not  care  for  children. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  343 

June  21. 

A  most  exhausting  clay.  The  only  way  we  have  of  making 
money  for  our  auxiliary  is  by  making  ice-cream  for  sale  two 
or  three  times  during  the  summer.  Ice-cream  is  a  rarity  in 
Peaceville  and  consequently  these  sales  are  very  successful 
and  we  had  arranged  to  have  one  this  afternoon.  I  and  my 
clear  little  neighbor,  who  is  secretary  of  the  auxiliary,  furnish 
part  of  the  milk.  As  soon  as  I  could  get  off  after  the  many 
impediments  which  arose  this  morning  I  took  the  demijohn 
of  milk  and  drove  over  to  Mr.  F.'s  and  got  theirs  and  took 
them  out  to  Peaceville,  where  Mrs.  R.  and  J.  F.  are  going 
to  make  the  cream. 

I  came  home,  had  a  hurried  dinner,  and  went  back  to  Peace- 
ville to  serve  the  cream,  which  I  always  enjoy,  but  the 
heat  and  the  drive  back  and  forth,  amounting  to  sixteen 
miles,  were  almost  too  much  for  me.  I  brought  some  ice- 
cream to  poor  ill  Georgie.  I  had  the  can  packed  well  in 
ice  and  her  delight  over  it  was  pathetic.  She  washed  off  the 
salt  and  ate  all  the  ice  after  finishing  the  cream.  I  also 
brought  some  for  Chloe  and  Lizette. 

When  I  got  seated  down  in  the  cool  dining  room  in  Mama's 
big  chair  and  my  little  lamp  with  the  shade  on  it  I  was  too 
tired  to  move  until  after  12  o'clock.  On  the  table  by  me  was 
a  book  which  I  read  in  every  spare  moment  with  much 
pleasure  :  "The  Bible  in  Spain  ;  or  the  Journeys,  Adventures 
and  Imprisonments  of  an  Englishman  in  an  Attempt  to  Cir- 
culate the  Scriptures  in  the  Peninsula."  George  Borrow 
made  these  journeys  as  far  back  as  1835,  so  there  is  nothing 
new  in  the  book,  but  it  holds  my  attention  when  I  am  too 
tired  to  read  anything  else,  and  to-night  it  did  not  fail  me. 

June  22. 
The  cotton  is  coming  up,  also  the  corn  which  was  so  long 
in  the  ground.     I  am  so  glad  cow-peas  are  selling  for  $3  a 


344  .1    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

bushel,  and  I  am  having  mine  threshed  out  so  that  I  can  sell 
some  and  be  able  to  pay  for  the  hoeing  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  now.  As  long  as  the  cotton  had  not  come  up  it 
seemed  dangerous  to  attempt  to  work  it. 

Jim  is  in  great  distress  because  the  doctor  says  his  little 
girl  has  tuberculosis  and  that  unless  she  is  brought  into  the 
country  and  kept  out  of  doors  she  will  not  live  until  August. 
He  wants  to  break  up  in  town  and  move  into  the  country, 
but  the  wife  will  not.  As  Jim  says,  "Seems  like  they  rather 
die  in  town  than  live  in  the  country."  So  he  asked  my 
permission  to  bring  her  up  to  stay  with  him.  Of  course  I 
consented. 

Chloe  came  to  tell  me  she  had  got  a  letter  from  her  sister 
saying  she  must  go  down  to-morrow  and  take  $30  with  her 
to  pay  for  the  funeral  expenses.  I  said:  "You  have  that 
much  in  the  bank,  Chloe?"  She  said  yes,  but  after  a  while 
it  came  out  that  she  had  taken  all  her  money  out  of  the  bank 
at  her  sister's  bidding  to  buy  finery  for  Clara  to  graduate  in. 

I  was  quite  distracted,  for  I  will  have  to  borrow  the  $30  to 
give  her,  and  I  never  know  where  to  borrow  money.  I  once 
borrowed  $1000  from  the  bank.  It  was  when  I  was  planting 
rice  successfully  and  had  no  doubt  as  to  paying  it  easily 
when  the  crop  came  in.  But  that  year  some  misfortune 
happened  and  I  thought  I  should  lose  my  mind  over  that  debt. 
I  had  given  a  mortgage  on  Casa  Bianca.  It  was  a  year  of 
great  depression  in  this  country  from  loss  of  crops  and  the  low 
price  of  rice,  and  if  there  had  been  a  forced  sale  the  place 
would  have  gone  for  nothing.  Since  then  I  have  done  any- 
thing rather  than  borrow  —  but  now  for  my  dear  Chloe  I 
must  do  it. 

July  4. 

A  brilliant  day  for  the  darkies  to  celebrate  ;  it  is  the  day  of 
days  to  them.  Lizette  has  been  in  such  an  excitement  that 
she  broke  the  top  of  one  of  my  precious  little  pink  Wedgwood 


A    WOMAN  ItlCE  PLANTER  345 

dishes.  I  could  have  cried  if  I  had  not  been  ashamed ; 
having  no  people  around  me  I  get  so  fond  of  things.  Goliah 
behaved  abominably,  refusing  to  crack  the  corn  for  Chloe 
before  he  went  off,  though  I  had  given  him  10  cents  and  a 
watermelon. 

Had  dinner  at  12  so  that  the  servants  could  all  go  and  had 
a  most  delightful  long  afternoon.  I  took  my  sewing  and  book 
and  sat  down  by  the  river  with  the  dogs.  When  I  found  it 
too  dark  to  see  either  to  read  or  to  sew  I  chained  Don  and 
then  came  in  and  lighted  the  lamps  and  had  my  tea. 

Chloe  returned  about  10  o'clock.  I  had  sent  poor  little 
Georgie  a  present  of  a  melon  by  her,  and  she  said  :  — 

"Miss  Pashuns,  ef  yu  cud  a  see  Georgie  w'en  I  g'en  she 

de  melun  !     'Twas  teching  !     'E  say  'e  had  a  dreem  'bout 

mellun  en  dem  so  scarse.     Moses  cucln't  give  him  money  f'r 

buy  none,  en  now  'e  hab  one,  en  'e  say  'e  cudn't  tenk  yu 

'nuff." 

July  11. 

S.  came  up  and  made  me  a  delightful  visit. 

Though  there  is  a  great  gap  of  years  between  S.  and  myself 
we  have  so  many  of  the  same  tastes  and  interests  that  the 
years  do  not  count  in  our  intercourse.  Her  music  is  a  delight 
to  me,  and  it  is  such  a  wonder  that  she  keeps  it  up  as  she  does 
with  so  many  drawbacks  and  with  such  an  old  and  weary 
piano.  I  often  feel  that  I  would  like  to  give  her  my  Steinway, 
which,  when  I  come  to  count  the  years,  is  itself  not  in  its  first 
bloom,  having  been  bought  in  1885 ;  but  it  is  an  infant  com- 
pared to  hers  and  would  be  a  joy  to  her,  the  action  is  so  good 
and  the  tone  so  full ;  but  really  I  would  not  dare  to  face  my 
existence  here  without  it.  I  shudder  at  the  thought ;  so  I 
hastily  quench  the  impulse. 

This  afternoon  I  brought  back  seven  nice  watermelons 
from  the  plantation,  greatly  to  Goliah's  delight.  They 
weighed  down  the  buckboard  so  that  he  proposed  to  walk 


346  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

home  to  lighten  the  buggy.  I  suppose  he  weighs  about 
fifty-five  pounds.  I  thanked  him  for  the  proposal,  but  said 
I  did  not  wish  to  reach  home  before  him.  Oh,  no,  he  said, 
he  would  run  and  keep  up ;   but  I  would  not  let  him. 

Little  Goliah  is  the  happiest,  j oiliest  little  boy,  so  fat  and 
so  black  and  shiny.  My  efforts  to  teach  him  are  futile  in  the 
extreme,  but  why  should  Goliah  be  taught  anything?  He 
has  a  vast  fund  of  general  information  of  things  to  me  un- 
known, and  above  all  he  has  such  a  power  of  observation  that 
nothing  escapes  him. 

I  am  absent-minded  and  constantly  lose  keys  and  things 
like  pencils  and  handkerchiefs,  etc.  When  I  ask  Goliah  as  to 
what  I  had  in  my  hand  when  I  spoke  to  him  last  he  can  always 
tell  me  accurately,  and  my  next  question  is,  "And  where  did 
I  go  when  I  finished  talking  with  you  ?  "  He  can  always  tell 
exactly,  and,  moreover,  I  always  find  that  he  knows  every 
step  I  have  taken  since,  though  he  is  in  the  yard  and  I  am  in 
the  house. 

If  I  say,  "  Goliah,  remind  me  to-morrow  to  write  a  particu- 
lar letter"  or  to  do  any  special  thing,  he  is  sure  to  remind  me. 
Pie  has  learned  to  wash  his  clothes  so  beautifully  white  that 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  him  — ■  to  all  but  Gibbie,  who  is  very 
much  provoked  at  Goliah's  white  suits,  only  varied  by  a  sky 
blue  suit.  He  grumbles  aloud,  and  I  heard  him  say,  "Miss 
Pashuns  hab  dat  chile  dress  up  all  een  w'ite  till  'e  far'  look 
like  a  shadder  ;   'e  skare  me." 

Altogether  I  consider  Goliah  a  luxury.  I  have  not  the 
luxury  of  electric  lights  nor  telephone  nor  automobile  nor 
ice,  but  I  have  unlimited  space  and  fresh  air  and  sunshine 
and  the  wild  flowers  springing  up  everywhere  around  me,  and 
this  little  piece  of  animated  nature  just  bubbling  over  with  life 
and  joy  and  the  absolute  delight  of  having  plenty  to  eat  and 
nice  clothes  to  wear  and  being  always  clean  and  owning  a 
spelling  book  and  slate  and  a  bed  of  his  own  and  a  little  trunk, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  347 

also  saying  a  very  mild  lesson  every  day  and  catechism  on 
Sundays  —  all  these  things  which  to  most  children  are  a 
matter  of  course  are  to  him  something  quite  new  in  his  little 
experience  and  pure  bliss. 

When  you  add  to  this  that  he  has  Ruth,  that  big  fiery 
looking  animal  at  his  command,  and  that  when  he  has  been 
out  on  Sunday  to  visit  his  family  and  appears  at  the  gate  on 
his  return  she  whinnies  and  goes  to  meet  him,  really  his  little 
cup,  for  eight  years  empty,  is  full  to  overflowing  —  and  what 
gives  me  so  much  pleasure  is  there  is  no  arriere  pensee,  no 
deja-connu  —  it  is  all  so  fresh  and  so  perfectly  natural. 
Of  course  I  know  it  cannot  last. 

Goliah  is  a  constant  amusement  to  me.  I  am  teaching 
him  to  drive,  and  I  read,  for  when  it  is  very  hot  and  the  horse 
seems  to  feel  it  as  much  as  I  do,  I  cannot  make  her  go  fast, 
and  I  get  so  impatient  and  so  hot  that  it  is  an  immense  relief 
to  have  a  magazine  to  read.  Of  course  I  have  to  keep  an 
eye  always  on  Goliah  and  the  reins.  He  stands  at  the  back 
of  the  buckboard,  finding  that  gives  more  power  than  sitting. 

He  talks  constantly.  I  think  he  conceives  it  part  of  his 
duty  to  entertain  me.  "You  see  dat  bu'd,  Miss  Pashuns?" 
A  large  brown  bird  which  would  light  in  the  road  and  when 
Ruth  got  within  six  feet  of  it  would  fly,  to  light  a  little  way 
ahead,  waiting  until  I  thought  the  horse  must  tread  on  it. 

"Yes,  I  see  the  bird." 

"Yu  kno'  wha  da  bird  does  say?  'E  tell  eberybody, 
'Plant  bittle  fu'  winta  !     Plant  bittle  fu'  winta  ! ' " 

Now  we  call  the  bird  a  chick-will-willo ;  it  is  a  first  cousin 
of  the  whip-poor-will  and  has  a  more  cheerful  note,  but  I  had 
never  heard  any  sense  attributed  to  its  incessant  and  in- 
sistent note  before,  and  I  was  delighted  with  the  darky 
version. 

"Oh,  Goliah,"  I  said,  "what  a  pity  people  will  not  mind 
him,  there  is  so  much  land  and  so  many  idle  people ;  if  they 


348  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

only  would  plant  victuals  for  winter  what  abundance  there 
would  be  for  everybody,  man  and  beast." 

At  which  he  informed  me  that  he  had  planted  a  corn  crop 
himself  before  he  came  to  me  and  as  we  passed  his  father's 
house  he  showed  it  to  me  with  pride,  the  feeblest  growth. 

I  am  trying  to  teach  him  to  read  and  I'm  sure  it  would  be 
easy  if  he  could  only  learn  his  letters,  but  I  cannot  accomplish 
that.  He  says  the  alphabet  off  glibly,  but  the  letters  seem 
to  look  all  alike  to  him  and  my  efforts  to  describe  them  don't 
seem  successful.  I  point  to  a  letter  and  say  that  is  T,  it 
stands  for  " table"  and  looks  like  this  table  —  showing  him 
one  with  a  leg  in  the  middle  and  two  leaves.  S  stands  for 
"snake"  and  looks  like  one.  A  is  like  the  step-ladder. 
But  when  I  go  over  them  he  knows  not  one,  unless  he  says 
the  whole  alphabet  and  stops  at  the  letter.  I  try  making 
him  copy  the  letters  on  the  slate,  but  nothing  seems  to  im- 
press them  on  him ;  and  yet  he  is  so  clever  in  learning  his 
catechism  and  hymns. 

This  village  feels  it  has  taken  an  immense  step  forward 
since  the  honk  honk  of  the  automobile  can  be  heard  here 
daily.  Fortunately  the  owner  is  very  considerate  of  horses 
and  slows  down  and  even  stops  if  necessary,  so  that  Ruth  is 
getting  quite  over  her  fright  about  it.  All  she  wanted  was 
to  understand  what  it  was,  and  now  she  is  beginning  to  rec- 
ognize it  as  a  new  kind  of  horse  of  great  speed.  When  it 
passes  her  on  the  road  she  tries  her  best  to  catch  up  with  it. 


CHAPTER   XI 

Peaceville,  July  7. 

XT  has  been  desperately  hot  and  when  I  got  a  cordial  in- 
vitation from  Mrs.  G.  to  spend  a  few  days  with  her  on 
Pawleys  Island  I  was  overjoyed.     My  old  summer  home 
was  there,  and  since  we  had  to  sell  the  place  ten  years  ago  I 
have  never  been  willing  to  see  the  beach  again,  but  now  I  am 


My  old  summer  home  at  Pawleys  Island. 

just  gasping  for  a  breath  of  the  sea  and  I  made  my  arrange- 
ments to  go  to-clay. 

I  had  Jerry  King  ploughing  in  cow-peas  at  Cherokee,  and 
he  is  a  fine  boatman,  so  I  told  Bonaparte  to  have  my  little 
dugout  canoe  which  I  call  the  Whiting  ready  for  me  at  the 
wharf  at  10  o'clock,  with  Jerry  to  row  me.  When  I  drove 
down,  what  was  my  dismay  to  find  no  Jerry  there.  Bona- 
parte with  unmoved  dignity  told  me  that  Jerry  had  just  been 
arrested  by  the  Sheriff  while  ploughing  in  the  field,  for  debt, 
he  said. 

I  was  quite  distressed.  Jerry  does  not  live  on  my  place 
and  so  I  know  nothing  about  his  financial  status.     I  had  to 

349 


350  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

find  some  one,  for  Mrs.  G.'s  surrey  would  be  waiting  for  me 
on  the  other  side.  Jim  was  eager  to  row  me,  but  I  doubt  his 
being  able  to  hold  out  for  a  seven-mile  row,  not  having  used 
oars  for  years.  I  found  Aaron  was  working  his  cotton  in  the 
far  field,  so  I  sent  for  him. 

He  was  taken  unawares  and  came  not  knowing  what  I 
wanted,  and  was  most  reluctant  to  go  without  being  dressed 
for  the  occasion.  However,  I  insisted  that  it  was  an  emer- 
gency and  he  would  have  to  forget  the  good  clothes  he  would 
like  to  have  on,  and  I  would  do  likewise.  Aaron  used  to  be  a 
very  fine  oarsman,  but  he  has  not  rowed  very  recently  and 
felt  doubtful.  Little  Goliah  was  eager  to  go  in  the  boat,  so 
I  took  him.  He  is  10  and  it  is  time  he  was  learning  to  manage 
a  boat. 

When  we  got  to  the  mouth  of  the  Waccamaw  River  it  was 
very  rough  and  Aaron  wanted  to  turn  round,  but  I  would  not 
appear  to  understand  his  desire.     I  exclaimed  :  — 

"Now,  Aaron,  you  see  why  I  wanted  you  to  row  me.  I 
knew  there  would  be  half  a  gale  blowing  out  here,  and  I  would 
not  have  been  willing  to  cross  with  any  but  a  first-class 
boatman." 

"Miss,  you  t'ink  we  kin  mek  'em?  Dem  wave  is  putty 
tampsious  !  You  see  cle  win'  is  ded  gen  de  tide,  en  we  bleege 
to  cross  right  een  de  teef  uf  de  win'  !" 

"Yes,  but  the  tiller  ropes  are  strong,  and  I  can  keep  her 
head  on  the  waves  and  watch  my  chance  to  quarter  over. 
The  boat  is  stanch,  and  I  promise  you  I  can  keep  her  out  of 
the  trough.  You  know  the  river  well ;  tell  me  the  best 
place  to  cross,  and  let  us  go,"  for  all  this  time  we  were  dancing 
about  in  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  where  it  would  have  been 
easy  to  turn  —  when  once  we  got  into  the  rough  water  we 
could  not  —  and  I  feared  that  Aaron's  caution  might  prevail. 

The  river  is  about  a  mile  wide  at  that  point,  and  it  cer- 
tainly did  look  angry.     Poor  little  Goliah  was  so  frightened 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  351 

at  the  swirling  waves  that  I  told  him  to  sit  down  in  the  bottom 
of  the  boat,  which  he  did,  and  covered  his  eyes  with  his 
hands  so  as  not  to  see  the  raging  water.  He  just  shivered 
when  the  spray  dashed  over  him.  It  was  a  strenuous  half 
hour,  but  we  made  it,  and  when  we  got  into  the  canal  mouth 
on  the  other  side  Aaron  laughed  aloud  with  pride  and  de- 
light ;  he  rested  on  his  oars,  and  taking  out  his  bandanna, 
mopped  his  face  streaming  with  sweat  and  chortled  with  joy. 

"My  Lawd  !  Tis  a  good  t'ing  ter  travel  wid  a  pusson  w'at 
hab  a  strong  heart.  Miss  Pashuns,  you  bring  me  over  dat 
ribber!     I  didn't  trust  fer  cum,  but  you  bring  me." 

"I  know  you  are  glad,  Aaron." 

"Too  glad,  E  mek  me  feel  too  good,  I  got  back  me  y'uth." 

I  got  out  on  the  wharf,  very  tremulous  in  my  arms  from 
the  effort,  but  as  happy  over  it  as  Aaron.  I  told  him  he 
must  wait  until  sunset  to  return,  for  the  wind  almost  always 
falls  then.  I  found  J.  G.  waiting  with  the  surrey  and  was 
so  very  glad  I  had  persisted  in  coming,  for  he  said  he  would 
have  waited  until  night  for  me. 

Met  with  a  delightfully  cordial  welcome  and  a  dinner  of 
delicious  sailors'  choice,  fresh  from  the  sea. 

The  Rectory-on-the-Sea,  July  8. 

It  is  too  delightful  here  !  Words  cannot  express  how  much  I 
enjoy  this  beloved  sea,  the  invigorating  breeze,  and  the 
smell  of  the  ocean  !  I  did  enjoy  my  night's  rest  so  much 
with  the  glorious  boom  of  the  waves  breaking  on  the  beach, 
which  I  have  not  heard  for  so  long. 

The  family  are  charming,  and  go  on  with  their  various 
occupations,  and  I  just  sit  on  the  piazza  pretending  to  em- 
broider a  shirt-waist,  but  in  reality  just  drinking  in  the  beauty 
and  goodness  of  that  "great  first  cause,  least  understood," 
as  Pope  expressed  it,  whose  purposes  we  read  awry,  whose 
mercies  we  so  often  mistake  for  punishments,  whose  wisdom 


352 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 


we  so  often  doubt,  and  whose  hourly  call  for  our  hearts  we 
refuse,  and  still  he  lavishes  his  beauty  and  goodness  upon  us  ! 

Sunday,  July  10. 
This  morning  coming  from  the  dear  little  chapel  of  All 
Saints  on  the  sea-shore,  where  we  had  service,  I  met  Mr.  L., 


**&£ 


HEwffH 


^ 


g&  I 


^ 


fffr 


v> 


The  roof  of  the  house  on  Pawleys  Island  —  from  the  sand-hills. 

and  had  the  offer  of  a  magnificent  St.  Bernard  dog.  I  cer- 
tainly am  fortunate  about  dogs.  My  only  fear  is  that  he 
and  my  fine  red  setter  may  fight,  for  they  say  he  is  hard  on 
dogs,  though  very  mild  to  human  beings.  He  is  a  beauty 
and  would  be  a  great  possession  to  me.  I  feel  quite  sure 
he  would  not  fight  MacDuff,  my  terrier,  for  he  has  the  gift 
of  winning  love  from  all,  man  and  beast.  Don,  the  setter, 
who  is  jealous  of  everything  else,  has  never  been  jealous  of 
him. 

In  the  afternoon  I  drove  with  Mr.  G.  up  to  the  negro 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  353 

mission  at  Brook  Green,  nine  miles.  It  is  a  pretty,  churchly 
little  chapel.  He  asked  me  to  play  the  very  nice  organ.  The 
vested  choir  of  colored  girls  had  already  put  up  the  hymns  "I 
Need  Thee  Every  Hour,"  "  Crown  Him  With  Many  Crowns, " 
and  "Sun  of  My  Soul."  They  sang  very  well,  showing  Mrs. 
W.'s  careful  training,  and  the  service  was  very  pleasant. 

Visited  the  recluse  for  a  few  moments  —  a  striking  and 
interesting  figure  —  then  the  homeward  drive  through  the 
thick  woods.     Altogether  it  has  been  a  perfect  day. 

July  11. 

My  time  is  up  on  this  delightful  beach  and  I  started  home, 
driven  as  far  as  the  river  by  my  kind  host  and  hostess. 
Found  the  Whiting  with  Aaron  and  Goliah  waiting  for  me. 
It  was  very,  very  hot.  I  steered  at  first,  but  could  not  hold 
up  my  umbrella  and  steer,  and  as  Aaron  said  he  had  taught 
Goliah  on  the  way  home  I  changed  my  seat  and  turned 
over  the  ropes  to  him.  He  did  beautifully.  The  river  was 
like  glass,  a  great  contrast  to  the  trip  over,  but  the  creek 
called  Squirrel  Creek  through  which  we  go  is  so  winding,  with 
such  sharp  turns,  that  I  did  not  suppose  Goliah  could  get 
us  through  without  striking  the  shore  once,  but  he  did,  and 
I  was  much  pleased. 

After  the  hour  and  a  half  row  I  looked  over  the  corn, 
cotton,  etc.,  at  Cherokee  and  then  drove  rapidly  to  Peaceville, 
I  was  so  hot  and  tired.  As  I  got  out  of  the  buckboard  I 
saw  my  precious  little  dog  lying  under  a  tree  very  ill. 

As  I  called  his  name  he  tried  to  jump  up,  but  could  not 
stand  and  fell  over  on  his  side.  I  was  terribly  upset.  I  had 
a  tub  brought  and  poured  bucket  after  bucket  of  cool  water 
fresh  from  the  well  over  him,  then  rubbed  him  dry  and  gave 
him  three  tablespoonfuls  of  olive  oil.  Then  before  going  to 
bed  six  hours  later  I  gave  him  a  dose  of  castor  oil  in  hot  milk. 
I  feel  very  little  hope  of  his  recovery  and  am  very  sad. 
2  a 


354  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

July  12. 

Got  up  at  5  and  went  out  at  once  to  see  after  Mac  Duff. 
He  was  not  in  his  bed  nor  could  I  see  him  anywhere  in  the 
yard.  I  feared  he  had  wandered  off  to  die  —  that  is  the  dog's 
instinct,  the  call  of  the  wild,  I  suppose,  to  go  off  into  the  woods 
and  unseen  give  up  its  last  breath.  I  sent  Jim  to  search  the 
whole  enclosure,  which  is  large,  and  a  creek  runs  at  the  north- 
ern side.  I  stood  a  while  silent  by  the  well  and  then  lifted 
up  my  voice  and  called,  "MacDuff,  MacDuff!"  when 
around  the  piazza  and  down  the  front  steps  clattered  the 
little  fellow,  frisking  and  jumping,  apparently  perfectly  well. 
I  am  thankful ;  I  would  have  missed  my  little  companion 
sadly. 

This  afternoon  Goliah  came  to  me  looking  very  solemn 
and  asked  to  go  home  for  two  clays.  When  I  asked  why  he 
wanted  to  go  he  said  his  little  brother,  Tillman,  was  dead 
and  he  wanted  to  go  to  the  "settin'  up"  and  the  funeral. 
Poor  little  strangely  named  fellow ;  he  never  was  well.  The 
same  disease  that  carried  off  his  mother  and  brothers  gripped 
him  early.  I  ought  not  to  let  Goliah  go,  but  it  would  break 
his  heart  not  to,  and  so  I  let  him  go.  After  all,  poor  little 
Tillman  is  safe,  and  this  smart,  good  little  Goliah,  whom  I 
teach  and  train  as  well  as  I  can,  is  already  showing  that  he 
will  soon  break  away  from  my  authority  and  he  may  grow 
up  a  bad  man  after  all,  while  poor  little  Tillman  is  safe  from 
evil  influences.     There  are  many  things  worse  than  death. 

Peaceville,  July  25. 

The  field  Loppy  has  ploughed  is  a  sight  to  make  one  weep. 
Great  boulders  of  earth  much  bigger  than  his  head  lie  around 
as  though  tossed  there  by  some  giant  playing  ball,  and  the 
earth  being  dry  and  caked  the  harrowing  does  not  have  much 
effect.  Bad  as  Gibbie  is,  this  is  worse.  I  am  sending  him 
all  the  nourishing  food  I  can  find  to  get  him  on  his  feet  again. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  355 

No  chance  of  a  stand  of  peas  with  such  work.  The  only 
cheering  spark  is  little  Laycock,  who  every  other  day  with 
great  flourish  of  trumpets  deposits  a  tiny  little  egg  in  the 
geranium  lined  nest. 

This  evening  I  had  all  the  children  in  the  village  to  dance 
here  for  an  hour.  I  told  them  I  would  be  happy  to  play  for 
them  from  9  to  10  o'clock  every  Friday  evening  —  not  a 
party,  because  there  are  no  refreshments,  only  a  dancing 
class.     They  seemed  greatly  to  enjoy  themselves. 

There  are  not  more  than  fifteen  all  together,  and  L.  came 
to  help  me  direct  the  dancing.  I  am  so  fond  of  young  people 
that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me,  and  they  do  have  a  very  dull  time, 
especially  those  who  have  come  home  from  school.  I  meant 
to  make  a  tennis  court  in  the  yard,  but  I  attempted  to  have 
the  grass  improved.  It  was  moderately  smooth  before,  but 
I  ordered  it  very  carefully  ploughed  while  I  was  away  and 
fresh  grass  seed  planted.  Gibbie  was  the  person  to  do  it,  and 
it  is  now  like  the  billows  of  the  sea,  so  that  a  tennis  court  is 
impossible. 

The  mail  brought  me  to-day  a  most  interesting  looking 
parcel  with  forty-two  cents  postage  on  it.  I  opened  it  slowly 
and  with  much  satisfaction.  Is  there  anything  more  delight- 
ful than  an  unknown  quantity?  When  I  opened  the  box, 
about  six  inches  square  by  two  high,  out  came  a  white  canvas 
bucket  with  stout  rope  handle,  capable  of  holding  a  peck. 

I  examined  it  with  great  interest  and  wonder  as  to  its 
purpose.  A  water  bucket,  I  concluded,  so  I  called  Lizette 
and  had  her  take  it  to  the  ever  flowing  well  and  fill  it.  She 
brought  it  back  held  at  a  respectful  distance,  for  the  water 
dripped  out  very  steadily  though  not  fast.  Then  I  decided 
it  was  for  me  to  pick  fruit  and  vegetables  in.  I  could  only 
see  by  the  postmark  that  it  came  from  Maine.  I  am  quite 
charmed  with  its  lightness.  No  basket  is  half  so  light  to 
carry. 


356 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


To-day  Chloe  is  walking  about  the  yard  a  little,  which  is 
a  joyful  sight  to  me.  She  at  last  got  a  chance  to  tell  me  her 
amusing  story.  One  day  while  I  was  away,  Gibbie  came  to 
her  looking  most  mysterious. 

"Cook,"  he  said,  "I  got  somepin'  fo'  tell  yo'  '11  'stonish 
yo'.  I  study  'pon  um  till  I  confuse  een  my  min'.  I  dunno 
ef  I  kin  tell  yo'  straight,  but  anyhow  I'll  try.  Yisterday  my 
wife  en  all  de  'omans  on  de  place,  gone  fer  chop  cotton  to 
Mr.  0.,  en  dem  bin'  a  wuk  en  him  wife  run  out  en  'e  say : 
'So  Miss  Pennington  hab  fer  giv'  up  plant  cotton  altogeder, 


"  En  de  'omans  inek  answer  en  say  :  '  No,  ma'am  ;   we  neber 
steal  none.'  " 


una  steal  um  so  bad  !  En  de  'omans  mek  answer  en  say : 
'No,  ma'am ;  we  neber  steal  none.'  Den  de  lady  gon'  een  de 
house  en  bring  out  a  newspaper  en  read  out  de  newspaper,  en 
please  God,  an'  Chloe  'e  read  out  o'  dat  newspaper  eberyt'ing 
w'at  happen  on  dis  plantashun  ! 

"De  'omans  ben  dat  struck  dem  was  same  like  a  dumb 
pusson — dey  was  all  de  gwine-on  'bout  de  cotton-fiel'.     De 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  357 

paper  tell  how  dem  gon'  een  de  fiel',  soon  ne  mornin'  en  pick 
de  cotton,  en  w'en  de  moon  shine  how  dem  pick  de  cotton, 
en  how  dem  mek  pilla  en  bolsta,  en  at  las'  mattrus  out  de 
cotton,  en  ebery  free-male  been  struck.  'Kase  dem  know 
'twas  all  de  truf.  W'en  my  wife  cum  home  en  tell  me  I  had 
to  mek  him  tell  me  ober  t'ree  time  befo'  I  git  de  onderstandin', 
en  I  ain't  dun  study  yet  how  come  dat  kin  all  bin  een  dat 
paper." 

Chloe  told  it  with  much  more  dramatic  force  than  I  have. 
He  went  on  :  — • 

"De  whole  plantashun  stir  up.  Some  say  dem  g'wine 
'way,  say  dis  is  a  witchcraf  place.  Kyant  onderstand  how 
all  dem  sekrit  kin  git  een  de  newspaper.  De  only  t'ing  all 
de  name  different.  I  kyant  remember  wha  dem  call  Uncle 
Billy." 

Chloe  asked  if  there  was  anything  about  him. 

"Yes,  say  how  him  seem  like  him  couldn't  ketch  up  wid  de 
people,  say  him  do  all  he  kin  but  him  cudn't  seem  to  manige 
dem." 

Two  days  after  that,  Chloe  says,  my  good  little  Georgie 
came  to  her  in  great  wrath.  She  had  been  at  the  reading  and 
repeated  the  whole  story  to  Chloe  with  small  variations  and 
a  good  deal  more  minutely.  Her  indignation  was  so  great 
that  Chloe  tried  to  pacify  her,  but  she  would  not  be  pacified. 

"What  hurt  me  is  that  I  ain't  got  a  single  pilla  nor  nothin' 
f'm  de  cotton,"  she  said.  "I  got  my  two  lone  fedder  pilla 
I  had  w'en  I  married,  en  ebrybody  else  got  dere  house  chock 
full,  en  yet  de  disgrace  fall  on  me  same  like  on  dem." 

Then  she  went  on  to  recount  the  fine  bedding  all  the  others 
had.  At  last  Chloe  said  :  "Well,  Georgie,  no  one  kyant  help 
it ;  ain't  yo'  know  dem  ben  a-tek  cotton  fum  de  fiel'  all  de 
time?" 

"To  be  sure  I  know,  yo'  cudn't  help  know." 

"Did  yo'  eber  tell  Uncle  Bonaparte  'bout  dat?" 


358  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

"No,  I  neber  tell  nobody." 

"Well,  den,  you  kyant  say  not'ing,  en  ef  yo'  only  bin  tell 
him  onet,  yo'  name  would  be  clear ;  but  now  yo'  kyant  git 
mad  'bout  dat,  kase  yo'  neber  clear  yo'self." 

It  was  a  new  view  to  little  Georgie,  and  helped  somewhat 
to  pacify  her. 

When  Chloe  left  me  I  thought  over  it  a  long  time,  but  con- 
cluded it  was  best  to  take  no  notice  of  it  in  any  way.  The 
hands  had  all  been  a  little  on  their  dignity  :  but  I  was  pleased 
at  that,  because  they  did  better  work  to  sustain  the  dignity, 
and  that  is  all  I  want. 

July  26. 

A  perfectly  delightful  temperature,  so  cool  that  I  had  to 
put  on  my  white  flannel  suit,  made  from  my  own  wool,  which 
is  very  warm.  Old  Daddy  Ancrum  came  and  I  was  so  glad 
to  see  the  old  man ;  after  giving  him  a  good  breakfast,  got 
him  to  work  out  the  peanuts,  which  he  did  beautifully.  He 
must  be  nearly  ninety  and  yet  does  such  beautiful  work  and 
takes  such  pride  in  it. 

He  says  Bonaparte  is  a  child  to  him,  and  Bonaparte  was 
born  in  1833.  I  wish  the  old  man's  farm  was  nearer.  It  is 
quite  a  large  tract  and  he  has  given  a  part  to  his  son,  Kil- 
patrick,  who  is  a  carpenter.  If  I  could  get  Ancrum  to  super- 
intend the  hoe  work  here  it  would  make  all  the  difference 
in  the  world  in  the  results.  But  he  is  greatly  interested  in 
his  own  farm  and  only  comes  now  and  then  when  he  wants 
something. 

My  rice  is  beautiful,  contrary  to  all  expectations.  It  is 
upland  rice  and  has  stood  the  drought  better  than  any  of  the 
other  crops.  Jean  and  Florinda  have  worked  it  perfectly 
clean  ;  there  is  not  a  spear  of  grass  and  it  is  a  rich  dark  green 
and  growing  apace. 

I  have  Goliah  at  last  in  whole  clothes.  I  had  a  very  stout 
piece  of  sky  blue  denim,  and  his  first  trousers  were  made  of 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  359 

that,  and  with  a  blue  and  white  shirt  he  is  quite  startling. 
Then  he  has  two  white  suits.  I  choose  white  because  I  can 
see  when  they  are  clean,  which  I  could  not  do  if  they  were 
dark  colored.  He  is  very  proud  and  has  redoubled  his  ac- 
tivity. 

He  is  so  small  that  he  has  to  have  a  box  to  stand  on  to  har- 
ness the  horse,  and  even  with  that  he  cannot  get  the  head-stall 
on  without  help.  He  is  very  persistent  and  very  gentle  with 
"Root,"  as  he  calls  her,  and  I  admire  the  graceful  way  in 
which  Ruth  has  yielded  to  him.  She  really  tries  to  help  him 
in  every  way  and  stands  stock-still  while  he  labors  with  the 
fastenings  of  the  collar  and  hames.  Goliah  has  seen  a  good 
deal  of  life  and  he  feels  that  just  now  the  lines  have  fallen  in 
pleasant  places  for  him,  and  he  does  his  little  level  best  all 
the  time. 

On  Sundays  I  take  him  to  the  church  gate  in  his  sky  blue 
suit  to  carry  my  music  books  for  me.  The  first  time  he  went 
he  had  a  little  wistful  look,  so  I  said,  "Would  you  like  to  go 
to  church,  Goliah?"  "Yes,  ma'am,"  he  replied.  So  I  took 
him  in  and  showed  him  the  pew  reserved  for  his  color  and 
told  him  to  watch  when  people  knelt  and  stood  and  sat,  and 
to  do  the  same.  As  I  sat  in  the  choir  at  the  other  end  of  the 
church  I  had  to  exercise  my  faith  in  his  discretion.  When  I 
heard  him  say  his  little  catechism  that  evening  he  told  me  he 
"'joyed  the  chutch  mutch.  Befo'  I  never  cud  stand  to  go 
to  chutch,  but  I  like  dis,  en  I  want  you,  please,  ma'am,  to 
le'  me  go  next  Sunday."  Of  course  I  was  very  pleased,  and 
ever  since  he  has  gone  to  church  and  I  am  told  by  a  most 
particular  member  whom  I  asked  to  give  an  eye  to  him  that 
he  behaves  perfectly. 

I  was  so  pleased  with  this  that  it  was  a  shock  to  me  to  find 
that  Chloe  disapproved  intensely  of  it.  When  I  asked  her 
to  leave  the  dinner  for  Patty  to  cook  the  last  Sunday  our 
minister  was  here  she  said  no,  she  did  not  feel  like  going. 


360  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

I  urged  her  to  go,  when  to  my  amazement  she  said,  "No, 
ma'am  !  You  t'ink  I'd  go  en  set  down  by  dat  chile  een 
chutch  ?  No,  ma'am,  if  I  neber  go  to  chutch  I  wouldn't  set 
down  by  Goliah!"  I  retreated  before  the  unknown;  you 
may  live  near  these  people  all  their  lives  and  never  under- 
stand them.  Goliah  is  preternaturally  clean,  for  I  have  to 
take  him  about  in  the  buggy  with  me,  and  that  is  why  I  have 
him  wear  white  entirely ;  there  is  no  concealing  dirt  on  a 
white  suit.  So  that  the  scorn  of  sitting  beside  him  comes 
from  something  different  and  incomprehensible  to  me. 

Poor  Jim  is  terribly  discouraged.  The  corn  is  being  stolen 
daily. 

After  these  rains  the  track  of  the  thief  is  plainly  to  be  seen, 
a  very  big,  bare  foot.  Jim  called  me  to  see  it  and  I  took  a 
little  cane  and  measured  the  track  and  when  I  came  home 
took  my  tape  measure  and  found  it  was  fully  thirteen  inches 
long.     A  smaller  foot  is  also  visible. 

Lizette  tells  Chloe  how  grand  a  time  every  one  in  the  street 

has  at  night  Avith  big  pots  of  corn  boiling  on  the  fire  and  even 

the  babies  eat  it.     What  hope  is  there  of  ever  making,  or 

rather  getting,  a  crop  of  anything  ?     They  are  as  natural  and 

unrestrained  in  getting  at  what  they  want  to  eat  as  ants,  and 

just  as  hard  to  frustrate  and  control. 

Sunday. 

This  morning  Goliah  said  he  wanted  to  get  off  early  as 
Jean  was  to  be  baptized. 

"Where?"  I  asked  eagerly. 

"Rite  een  de  ribber,  up  to  Belside." 

"Oh,"  I  said,  "wait  a  minute  ;  I  must  send  her  some, 
things,"  and  upstairs  I  flew  and  turned  my  bureau  drawers 
topsyturvy  and  found  a  complete  outfit,  a  white  lawn  skirt 
which  is  one  of  my  prime  favorites,  having  a  deep  flounce 
around  it,  a  white  lawn  shirt-waist,  collar,  and  belt. 

Poor,  forlorn  Jean,  whose  life  I  saved  three  years  ago  when 


A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER  361 

she  seemed  a  certain  victim  to  tuberculosis  —  and  poor  thing, 
I  sometimes  wonder  if  I  did  her  a  kindness,  so  undisci- 
plined and  unfaithful  to  every  duty  does  she  seem.  And 
now  to  hear  of  her  being  about  to  step  into  the  river  and  wash 
away  her  sins! 

I  was  greatly  excited,  and  with  trembling  hands,  for  fear 
I  would  not  get  them  to  her  in  time,  I  put  up  the  parcel  and 
sent  Goliah  off  at  a  full  run. 

July  28. 

Another  perfect  morning.  I  read  last  evening  an  article 
on  efficiency  which  dwelt  upon  the  necessity  of  relaxing,  not 
pushing  on,  nerves  and  muscles  taut  and  strained  all  the  time. 
That  is  my  snare.  I  was  much  impressed  and  determined 
to  relax  to-day  and  take  a  complete  rest  at  noon.  I  carried 
out  my  intention  and  relaxed,  with  the  result  I  never  braced 
up  again  !  Never  was  able  to  do  a  thing  for  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

July  29. 

Had  a  very  trying  day  - —  not  money  enough  to  pay  off  the 
hands  in  full,  and  that  always  demoralizes  me.  I  went  down 
in  the  field  to  examine  the  work.  I  always  walk  now,  since 
reading  an  account  of  a  visit  to  the  work  on  the  Panama 
Canal,  the  writer  having  been  nearly  killed  by  the  length 
and  rapidity  of  the  walk,  Col.  Goethals  saying,  "If  one  wants 
to  keep  well  in  this  climate  he  must  walk."  Since  then  I 
make  it  a  point  to  walk  a  mile  every  day. 

My  own  want  of  efficiency  worries  me.  To-day  again  I 
relaxed  and  rested,  and  I  know  it  was  a  mistake  and  will  not 
try  it  again  —  some  people  have  to  stay  braced. 

Lizette,  who  is  about  fourteen,  went  last  night  to  a  "settin' 
up"  three  miles  from  here.  A  woman  had  died  whom  she 
did  not  know  at  all,  had  never  seen  in  life.  In  the  midst 
of  the  singing  of  "speretuals"  and  shouting  two  small  boys 
got  into  a  fight,  their  parents  joined  in,  and  in  a  few  moments 


362  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  "speretuals"  and  shouting  were  turned  into  cursing. 
Poor  things,  poor  things  !  Lizette  was  so  worn  out  that 
when  I  came  down  to  breakfast  I  found  her  stretched  out  on 
the  pantry  dresser  fast  asleep. 

After  breakfast  Chloe  came  in  and  told  me  she  was  freezing 
cold  and  could  not  get  warm.  I  immediately  went  out  to  the 
kitchen  and  made  a  cup  of  hot  ginger  tea,  which  I  forced  her 
to  drink.  I  tried  to  get  her  to  go  to  bed,  but  in  vain ;  she 
said  if  she  once  went  to  bed  she  knew  she  would  never  get 
up  again,  and  this  melancholy  view  I  did  not  combat.  I 
just  said:    "Then  perhaps  you  had  better  stay  up." 

I  made  Jim  cook  as  Chloe  was  too  ill  to  do  anything,  though 
she  would  not  leave  the  kitchen  until  I  had  her  big  rocker 
brought  and  put  under  an  oak  tree  just  in  front  of  the  kitchen 
and  insisted  on  her  sitting  there.  Goliah  was  made  to 
put  on  his  white  apron  and  wait,  which  made  him  very 
proud. 

God  forgive  me ;  but  it  does  seem  so  hopeless  when  the 
elements  are  banded  together  against  one  ! 

I  must  remember  this  is  the  time  to  show  faith  and  courage. 

Sunday,  July  30. 

The  blessed  day  of  rest.  I  wrote  that  this  morning.  It  has 
been  a  blessed  day,  but  not  one  of  rest  exactly. 

I  had  early  in  the  week  a  letter  from  C.  saying  he  would 
bring  the  dean  up  this  afternoon  to  have  service  at  St.  Peter's- 
in-the- Woods,  about  nine  miles  from  here,  asking  me  to  meet 
them  there  and  saying  they  would  come  home  with  me  and 
spend  the  night.  I  think  I  did  too  much  Thursday,  driving. 
Anyway  I  was  very  nervous. 

I  let  Jim  go  down  to  Gregory  Friday  and  spend  the  night 
with  his  family,  so  that  I  could  have  him  here  to-day  to 
drive  me.  I  fixed  all  the  lamps  and  finished  my  household 
work,  for  this  tall   Lizette  cannot  be  trusted  to  do  any- 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  363 

thing.  Then  at  10:  30  got  into  the  wagon  behind  Ruth  and 
Marietta  to  go  to  church  in  Peaceville. 

I  had  been  invited  to  dine  by  Mr.  F.  and  M.  had  a  delicious 
dinner.  Then  I  took  them  with  me  out  to  St.  Peter's-in-the- 
Woods.  There  was  a  very  small  and  pathetic  looking  con- 
gregation. The  notice  had  been  short.  Mr.  S.,  who  had 
promised  to  give  it,  had  not  been  very  successful.  These 
people  do  not  go  to  any  post-office  or  have  any  mail,  so  any 
notice  to  reach  them  has  to  be  sent  by  hand  to  a  few  in  time 
to  have  the  word  passed  round. 

When  the  clean  drove  up  with  C.  I  saw  him  look  around 
with  wonder,  first  at  the  very  forlorn  looking  congregation 
talking  together  in  groups,  and  then  at  the  very  plain  little 
board  building  which  is  the  church,  standing  in  a  group  of 
trees  on  the  edge  of  a  swamp.  I  realized  at  once  that  the 
eloquent  divine  had  never  come  upon  just  such  a  church  and 
just  such  a  congregation  and  that  for  the  moment  he  was 
taken  aback. 

After  a  while  the  service  began.  The  dean  with  his  fine 
voice  and  in  his  handsome  vestments  seemed  quite  too  big 
and  imposing  for  the  little  chancel  with  its  bare  pine  table 
and  reading  stand.  The  little  baby  organ  which  was  given 
to  the  chapel  years  ago  has  long  been  dumb,  so  I  had  to  raise 
the  hymns.  The  dean  helped  much  with  the  singing  and 
read  beautifully. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  sermon  he  read  the  miracle  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  and  then  in  a  low,  quiet  voice  talked. 
What  he  said  was  very  beautiful  and  very  simple.  With 
that  hungry  multitude  and  nothing  but  one  boy's  individual 
store,  our  blessed  Saviour  might  have  made  a  great  and  won- 
derful spectacle  and  by  His  word  created  thousands  of  loaves 
and  thousands  of  fishes  and  caused  excitement  and  amaze- 
ment; but  He  simply  asked  the  question,  "How  many  loaves 
have  ye  ?"  told  His  disciples  to  make  the  multitude  sit  down 


364  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

and  to  divide  out  what  they  had,  and  lo  !  they  had  enough 
and  to  spare. 

Then  he  pointed  the  lesson  to  us.  Do  not  wait  for  great 
things,  do  not  long  for  great  powers,  for  great  opportunities ; 
use  the  little  you  have  in  faith  and  God  will  make  it  cover  the 
need ;  use  your  little  strength ;  use  your  little  talent ;  use 
your  little  store  of  whatever  kind,  and  it  will  suffice.  I 
cannot  give  any  idea  of  the  effect,  but  I  must  write  down  what 
I  can  so  as  not  to  forget  it  myself. 

When  I  went  out  of  church  poor  Betty  C,  whom  I  have 
known  from  her  girlhood  and  who  has  always  looked  old  and 
weary,  her  capacities  always  having  been  below  her  needs, 
said  in  her  very  slow,  drawling  voice  :  "Miss  Patience,  is  this 
here  preacher  comin'  here  ag'in  ?" 

"Yes,  Betty,"  I  answered.  "The  dean  says  that  whenever 
he  can  spare  an  afternoon  from  his  church  in  Gregory  he  will 
come." 

"Well,  Miss  Patience,  I'm  mighty  glad  to  hear  it.  Seems 
like  I'd  walk  any  distance  to  listen  to  him." 

"Well,  Betty,  you  tell  him  that;   it  will  please  him." 

Whether  Betty  ever  made  up  her  mind  to  such  an  effort 
as  to  tell  the  dean  I  never  knew.  She  is  a  woman  of  46, 
tall,  thin,  bent,  yellow,  the  mother  of  seven  children  and 
one  grandchild.  Her  husband  is  the  owner  of  much  land  and 
quite  a  stock  of  cattle,  and  plants  a  good  farm.  Her  life  has 
been  one  long  effort  to  keep  up  with  her  duties,  for  she  has 
faithfully  tried  in  a  feeble,  helpless  way  to  do  her  duty. 
That  the  sermon  should  have  reached  her  heart  and  helped 
her  was  a  wonderful  tribute. 

These  pineland  white  people  have  a  strange  pathos  about 
them,  a  wistful,  helpless  look  like  some  spirit  that  would  fly, 
would  soar,  but  is  bound  securely  to  the  earth.  My,  but 
they  are  pitiless  to  the  one  who  falls  from  their  standard  of 
morals  !     I  asked  several  about  poor  Mrs.  Lewis.     The  an- 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  365 

swer  was  always  with  averted  eyes,  "I  ain't  heercl  nothin' 
about  her  for  the  longest."  I  tried  one  after  another,  but 
always  the  same  answer. 

The  Lewis  family  live  but  two  miles  from  the  church,  just 
on  the  road,  and  many  of  them  pass  the  hut  in  coming  to 
church,  so  there  must  be  something  very  wrong.  If  Louise, 
who  teaches  the  Sunday-school,  had  been  there  I  could  have 
found  out  what  was  the  matter,  but  her  last  baby  was  too 
young  for  her  to  come  out,  and  it  was  too  late  for  me  to  go  to 
her  home. 

The  drive  home  was  delightful.  I  got  home  about  six 
and  was  able  to  have  supper  all  ready  by  the  time  C.  and  the 
dean  got  here.  We  had  a  charming  evening  and  I  feel 
greatly  refreshed  mentally  and  spiritually  in  spite  of  bodily 
fatigue. 

July  31. 

C.  and  the  dean  got  off,  to  my  great  regret,  about  half 
past  nine.  It  is  my  dear  C.'s  birthday  and  Chloe  made  a 
nice  sponge-cake  in  honor  of  it. 

After  they  left  Chloe  began  to  pour  out  a  sad  tale  about 
Goliah.  I  had  forgotten  to  give  notice  that  I  would  not  be 
here  for  the  Sunday-school  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  chil- 
dren had  arrived  as  usual  at  4  o'clock  and  Goliah  had  con- 
ducted them  down  to  the  garden  and  she  hearing  great  sounds 
of  mirth  and  revelry  went  down  and  found  them  all  with  as 
many  peaches  as  they  could  possibly  carry. 

Of  course  she  was  very  indignant  and  scolded  them,  Goliah 
specially,  whereupon  Goliah's  sister  Catty,  who  is  well  named, 
being  of  a  feline  nature  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  word,  had 
broken  out  and  "cussed"  her  outrageously.  Altogether 
Chloe  seemed  anxious  to  impress  upon  me  that  my  efforts 
to  teach  them  were  quite  thrown  away  and  that  it  was  a 
constant  danger  to  have  that  "gang  o'  little  niggers"  coming 
about  on  Sunday  afternoon  when  she  was  away  usually. 


366  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

She  said  she  did  not  take  the  peaches  from  them,  as  it  was 
Sunday. 

I  told  her  I  was  glad  she  did  not.  It  is  very  hard  on  Chloe 
to  see  the  peaches  which  she  has  watched  with  such  pride 
and  picked  so  carefully  so  that  I  may  have  a  few  every  day 
as  they  ripen,  taken  off  by  the  bushel  in  that  way,  and  I  feel 
for  her.     The  one  faithful  person  does  have  a  hard  time. 

All  these  years  I  never  had  any  fruit,  but  this  summer  I 
have  had  since  the  last  of  June  a  watermelon  every  day  for 
my  lunch  and  peaches  and  cream  for  breakfast  or  dinner,  and 
both  Chloe  and  I  have  rejoiced  in  it.  Besides  she  has  made 
several  jars  of  peach  preserves  and  had  hoped  to  make 
several  more. 

I  had  to  console  Chloe  as  best  I  could  and  promise  to  be 
very  severe  on  Goliah.  It  is  well  that  I  had  such  a  spiritual 
uplift  yesterday,  for  things  seem  specially  sordid  to-day. 
I  wanted  to  do  some  writing,  but  the  little  vexations  were 
too  numerous  and  engrossing.  Woe  is  me  not  to  be  stronger, 
to  let  myself  be  made  useless  by  these  gnat  stings. 

I  went  down  to  the  field  and  found  Rosetta  and  Anna  and 
Becky  doing  good  work,  also  old  Florinda  and  Jean.  Then  I 
came  back  and  did  some  necessary  mending,  and  by  after- 
noon quite  late  I  went  down  to  my  table  by  the  river  with  the 
dogs  and  got  back  my  serenity  and  ended  the  day  by  working 
round  the  tomato  plants. 

Before  he  went  home  at  6  I  called  up  Goliah  and  gave  him 
a  talk,  told  him  how  hurt  I  was  that  the  children  whom  I  was 
trying  so  hard  to  teach  the  beauty  and  worth  of  honesty 
should  behave  so.  Then  most  unexpectedly  Goliah  took  all 
the  blame  and  said  :  — 

"Need  not  to  blame  de  chillun,  Miss  Pashuns;  not  one 
bin  een  de  gaa'den  but  me.  I  gone  over  en  I  pick  de  peech 
en  I  give  em  to  de  chillun.  Dem  all  stan'  outside  de  fence 
en  I  give  evry  one  as  mutch  peech  as  him  cud  tote." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


367 


This  astonishing  truth  telling  raised  my  spirits  greatly ;  if 
Goliah  had  broken  one  commandment  he  was  coming  out 
nobly  in  telling  the  truth  and  not  bearing  "false  witness 
against  his  neighbor."     So  I  told  him  how  glad  I  was  to  hear 


Dem  all  stan'  outside  de  fence." 


that  he  alone  had  been  guilty,  but  he  must  never  be  so  liberal 
with  other  people's  things  again. 

Altogether  I  am  going  to  bed  in  a  very  happy  frame  of 
mind.  Chloe  came  in  after  tea  to  talk  and  I  tried  to  cheer 
her  by  telling  her  of  Goliah's  confession,  but  it  seemed  only 
to  add  fuel  to  fire  that  he  should  have  the  impudence  to  tell 
me  to  my  face  that  he  had  taken  all  those  peaches,  stripped 
the  tree,  etc.  I  am  glad  I  cannot  understand  her  point  of 
view.  You  cannot  blame  a  person  for  being  color  blind  or 
near-sighted ;  you  are  just  sorry  for  them  and  thankful  that 
you  have  the  joy  of  seeing  the  distant  clouds  in  all  their 
gorgeous  sunset  hues. 


368  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

A  week  ago  I  had  a  letter  from  Rab,  whose  four  years 
under  the  worthy  Jenkins  have  still  three  months  to  run, 
begging  me  to  bring  him  home.  It  is  a  funny  little  letter. 
After  the  usual  politeness  which  a  darky  letter  never  leaves 
out,  he  says  :  — ■ 

"  I  t'ank  you  mutch,  Miss  Pashuns,  fur  all  you  done  fur  me, 
but  now  the  time  is  come  fur  me  to  do  fur  you,  en  I  kin  help 
you  if  you'll  only  send  fur  me  to  come  home.  I  kin  milk,  an' 
I  kin  plough,  an'  I  kin  drive  purty  well.  If  you  don't  send 
fur  me  please  come  to  see  me  right  soon." 

I  was  quite  touched  and  felt  like  sending  for  him  at  once, 
though  the  time  I  brought  him  home  after  typhoid  fever  was 
most  unsuccessful,  for  he  shot  himself  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
out  of  the  doctor's  hands  I  sent  him  back.  Now  there  is  a 
difficulty  as  to  where  he  would  sleep  if  he  came  back.  I  ap- 
proached Chloe  as  to  fixing  up  the  little  room  off  of  her  room 
for  him,  but  she  was  so  upset  at  the  idea  that  I  gave  it  up. 
I  know  it  would  be  folly  to  put  him  alone  in  a  house  outside ; 
he  would  simply  have  every  vagabond  in  the  country  to 
sleep  with  him  or  spend  his  time  running  over  the  country  at 
night,  which  could  only  lead  to  trouble.  I  am  disappointed 
in  Rab's  scholarship.  The  handwriting  is  passable,  but 
everything  else  is  pretty  bad. 

August  1. 

After  breakfast  was  going  to  the  field  when  Chloe  came  in 
terribly  excited  and  said  she  was  going  into  the  field  to  beat 
Jean,  who  had  told  a  lie  upon  her.  When  Chloe's  blood  is 
up  there  is  no  stopping  her ;  I  really  was  frightened,  for  I 
did  not  know  what  would  happen. 

I  went  to  the  barn-yard  to  give  out  the  feed  when  Chloe 
returned,  dragging  Jean  by  the  arm.  I  sent  for  Lizette  and 
Goliah,  heard  the  whole  story,  and  held  court.  A  complete 
lie  Jean  had  told,  saying  Chloe  had  met  her  at  the  pump 
yesterday  and  told  her  that  Lizette  and  Louisa  said  Jean's 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  369 

clothes  never  looked  well  on  her  because  they  were  all  stolen. 
By  this  time  all  the  hands  had  assembled  and  there  was 
quite  an  audience.  Chloe,  still  holding  Jean  tightly  by  the 
arm,  asked :  — 

"Did  I  speak  to  you  at  all  yesterday,  Jean?" 

"No,  mam,"  said  Jean. 

Chloe  said,  "Lizette,  you  yere  dat?"  And  so  on  it  went, 
Jean  confessing  that  it  was  also  false  what  she  had  said,  that 
wretched  Goliah  had  said  he  would  cut  Chloe  open  with  a 
knife. 

After  Chloe  had  said  her  say,  I  said  a  few  words  in  judg- 
ment :  that  they  could  be  indicted  but  I  would  only  require 
that  they  ask  Chloe  to  forgive  them  for  their  outrageous 
conduct.  To  my  great  surprise  Jean  stepped  forward  and 
said :  — 

"I  beg  your  paadon,  An'  Chloe,"  extending  her  hand,  which 
Chloe  took  and  with  a  grand  air  said  :   "I  fergiv'  you,  Jean." 

Thankful  to  have  the  court  so  peacefully  adjourned  I  came 
back  to  the  house  and  spent  the  morning  cutting  out  Chloe's 
"fine  black"  frock  and  an  extra  waist.  I  always  offer  to  cut 
out  for  her,  but  it  ends  in  my  stitching  it  all  up  on  the  ma- 
chine. 

It  has  been  another  perfect  clay  and  night.  How  wonder- 
fully good  of  the  Creator  to  make  this  world  so  beautiful. 

August  4. 

Read  till  twelve  last  night ;  I  felt  the  need  of  relaxation 
and  diversion.  Finished  "Routledge  Rides  Alone,"  which 
I  have  enjoyed  immensely,  though  there  is  too  much  war  for 
me. 

The  working  of  the  potatoes  is  almost  finished.     Jim  is 
cutting  tops  of  the  oldest  corn.     I  always  have  a  fight  over 
the  cutting  of  the  tops,  but  I  insist  on  doing  it  because  it 
makes  nearly  twice  as  much  forage. 
2b 


370  A    WOMAN   EWE  PLANTER 

Nelly  Thompson  paid  me  a  long  visit.  I  had  just  washed 
my  hair  and  was  busy  sewing  while  it  dried  so  I  asked  her  up 
into  my  room,  which  pleased  her  much.  She  is  the  widow 
of  our  faithful  and  devoted  servant  Nelson,  and  I  always  like 
to  do  her  honor  in  a  small  way,  though  she  is  not  at  all  made 
of  the  same  clay  as  her  husband. 

When  she  was  going  I  presented  her  with  an  embroidered 
black  scarf  of  mamma's  about  two  yards  long  and  three- 
quarters  wide  and  she  was  very  happy.  From  the  dates 
she  gave  me  she  must  be  78.     She  is  Jim's  mother-in-law. 

The  first  of  this  month  I  sent  a  notice  to  the  five  young  men 
negroes,  who  rent  houses  on  my  place,  that  they  must  pay  up 
their  rent.  The  agreement  was  that  they  should  pay  $1 
every  month  for  the  house  and  three  or  four  acres  of  garden 
and  field.  No  one  has  paid,  and  I  must  have  the  money  or 
their  work. 

I  thought  writing  a  formal  letter  might  do  what  speech  had 
not  accomplished,  but  as  yet  there  has  been  no  result.  I 
want  to  gather  my  fodder,  and  need  all  the  hands  I  can  get, 
to  do  it  before  the  weather  changes. 

August  14. 

Went  to  Casa  Bianca  to-day.  The  peas  are  up  nicely 
there,  though  the  ground  looks  very  rough.  At  Cherokee 
the  men  gave  me  one  day's  work  on  their  rent  as  a  great  con- 
cession and  I  got  in  the  fodder. 

Poor  little  Laycock  has  made  up  her  mind  to  sit  on  her 
beautiful  little  nest  of  eggs  and  no  power  can  stop  her.  There 
she  sits  through  the  broiling  heat  of  the  day,  and  there  is  no 
hope,  for  a  pullet's  first  eggs  never  hatch.  I  have  tried  every 
method  known  to  stop  her,  except  ducking  her  in  water  ;  that 
I  would  not  do. 

That  instinct  of  fulfilling  one's  destiny  and  duty  is  very 
wonderful.  The  heat  has  been  fierce,  and  the  box  is  in  the 
full  sunshine,  the  scarlet  geraniums  in  full  bloom,  and  at  first 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  371 

her  little  comb  was  as  reel  as  they,  but  gradually  it  has  paled 
till  it  is  a  dull  gray  now.  There  she  sits  gasping  with  her 
poor  little  mouth  wide  open.  I  put  water  by  her,  but  she 
does  not  avail  herself  of  it. 

Twice  a  day  she  flies  down  and  goes  to  the  well,  and  is  fed, 
making  a  tremendous  ado  among  the  other  fowls,  and  then 
back  again  to  her  post.  It  is  a  thing  to  excite  the  most  en- 
thusiastic admiration,  that  adherence  to  the  post  of  duty  — 
duty  for  its  own  sake.  I  am  going  to  have  the  box  taken  out 
under  a  tree,  where  at  least  she  will  not  suffer  so. 

August  22. 

A  negro  man  and  his  wife  asked  to  see  me  early  this  morn- 
ing, whom  I  did  not  know,  though  they  were  descendants, 
both  of  them,  of  our  own  people,  and  I  wondered  what  they 
could  want.  My  joy  was  great  when  I  found  they  wanted 
one  of  my  heifers,  and  had  brought  the  money.  The  man 
was  bargaining  with  me  trying  to  get  it  for  $10  when  the 
woman  said :  — 

"Miss,  I  may's  well  tell  you  I  wants  one  o'  your  breed  o' 
cow,  en  I  got  de  $15  in  me  pocket  fo'  pay  fo'  em." 

So  I  sold  her  my  beautiful  Dodo,  and  I  promised  to  keep 
her  in  my  pasture  until  their  fields  were  open.  It  is  a  mercy 
to  me  to  have  this  unexpected  sale. 

Last  week  I  sold  Peacock  with  her  picture  calf.  I  nearly 
wept,  but  yet  was  glad  to  get  an  offer  for  her.  She  was  a 
pale  gray,  with  eyes  all  over  like  the  feathers  of  a  peacock 
and  a  splendid  milker. 

I  don't  allow  myself  to  put  down  anything  about  the  heat; 
after  seeing  little  Laycock's  unmurmuring  endurance  in  her 
maternal  zeal,  I  feel  it  is  unworthy  to  dwell  upon  or  even 
mention  the  subject,  but  it  has  been  terrific. 

Yesterday,  as  I  drove  down,  at  one  place  where  the  pines 
are  thick  a  splendid  wild  turkey  rose  just  in  front  of  us  and 


372  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

soared  away,  greatly  to  Ruth's  alarm.  To-day  very  near 
the  same  place  we  came  on  a  number  of  them.  There  must 
be  a  growth  just  there  of  the  berries  on  which  they  feed. 

I  had  the  wagon  and  men  at  Hasty  Point  landing  at  day- 
light waiting  for  the  steamboat,  which  was  due  there  at  that 
hour.  It  did  not  come  until  twelve,  but  the  church  organ 
was  on  board  and  put  at  once  into  the  wagon  and  brought 
out  here,  where  Miss  Penelope  and  myself  superintended  the 
unpacking  and  had  it  put  into  the  church.  Just  as  this  was 
done  there  came  a  downpour  of  rain.  I  am  so  rejoiced  that 
the  organ  has  been  restored  to  the  church  and  is  now  in  per- 
fect order.  This  great  blessing  we  owe  to  a  generous  friend 
at  a  distance,  who  this  spring  sent  the  money  to  pay  for  the 
repairs  and  freight. 

Sunday. 

A  perfect  morning.  Oh,  the  joy  of  this  blessed  day  of  rest 
and  peace  !  That  the  Almighty  One,  who  needed  no  rest, 
whose  powers  are  infinite,  should  have  ordained  this  seventh 
day  of  repose  and  cessation  from  toil,  seems  too  wonderful. 
As  I  sat  at  breakfast  (a  plump  little  summer  duck)  and  looked 
out  into  the  depths  of  foliage,  all  shades  from  the  solemn, 
steady  green  of  the  great  live  oaks  through  the  wild  cherry's 
shining  leaves,  the  Pride  of  India's  diaphanous  fronds,  the 
walnut's  dull,  yellowish,  palmlike  branches  down  to  the  vivid 
apple  green  of  the  grass  —  all  so  perfect,  so  full  of  beauty 
and  delight  for  the  eye  of  man  —  on  this  His  day,  here  in  my 
isolation  the  love  and  mercy  of  God  and  the  joy  of  His  great 
gift  of  life  intoxicate  me.  I  feel  as  David  must  have  felt 
when  he  wrote  some  of  those  glorious  shouts  of  joy  and  praise. 
I  long  to  give  expression  to  my  overflowing  gratitude. 

Monday. 

A  dreary  day  of  rain,  which  I  found  it  hard  to  get  through. 
This  is  a  sad  season  to  me.     I  do  not  believe  in  keeping  an- 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  373 

niversaries,  but  they  hold  one  in  spite  of  every  effort.  Even 
when  there  is  much  of  interest  going  on  around,  there  is  deep 
down  within  the  heart  that  nag,  nag,  nag  of  memory,  like 
the  toll  of  a  bell,  every  day,  every  hour,  every  moment  of  the 
agony,  thirty  years  gone  by.  The  maddening  "Why  was 
not  this  done?"  "If  only  that  had  been  done!  "  and  so  for 
the  time  one  forgets  God  and  His  everlasting  arms  and 
centres  the  mind  on  poor  human  agencies  and  possibilities. 
One  cannot  read,  one  cannot  sew,  one  cannot  pray. 


CHAPTER  XII 

August  27. 

DEAR  old  Daddy  Ancrum  came  dressed  in  his  Sunday 
best  to  tell  me  all  he  could  remember  of  his  past  life. 
I  had  asked  him  some  time  ago  to  come  some  day 
when  he  felt  quite  well  —  but  I  was  quite  touched  at  his 
dressing  in  his  very  best  for  the  occasion.  It  was  most  in- 
teresting to  me  and  I  wrote  it  all  down.  According  to  the 
dates  he  gave  me  he  is  91  years  old  —  with  all  his  faculties 
and  in  good  health. 

Next  Sunday  there  is  to  be  a  "funeral  sarmint,"  preached 
for  Chloe's  aunt,  a  person  of  distinction  in  the  colored  world, 
and  Chloe  and  Patty  both  want  to  go.  I  will  keep  Goliah, 
so  as  to  have  some  one  in  the  yard. 

As  we  drove  to-day  I  asked  him  if  he  could  cook  rice ;  that 
if  he  could  cook  I  might  have  him  do  so  Sunday.  He  said  he 
could,  but  as  he  would  answer  that  to  any  question  asked  as 
to  his  powers  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  how  he  did  it.  He 
began :  — 

"Fust  t'ing  yo'  foil  up  yo'  sleeve  es  high  as  yo'  kin,  en  yo' 
tak  soap  en  yo'  wash  yo'  han'  clean.  Den  you  wash  yo'  pot 
clean,  fill  um  wid  col'  wata  en  put  on  de  fia.  Now  w'ile  yo' 
wata  de  bile,  yo'  put  yo'  rice  een  a  piggin  en  yo'  wash  um 
well,  den  when  yo'  dun  put  salt  een  yo'  pot,  en  'e  bile  high, 
yo'  put  yo'  rice  een,  en  le'  um  bile  till  'e  swell,  den  yo'  pour 
off  de  wata,  en  put.yo'  pot  back  o'  de  stove,  for  steam." 

I  was  so  impressed  with  the  opening  sentences  that  I  deter- 
mined at  once  to  let  him  cook  my  Sunday  dinner  instead  of 
eating  it  cold,  but  when  I  told  Chloe  she  was  filled  with 
indignation. 

374 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


375 


"  Miss  Pashuns,  if  I  neber  eat  rice  again  I  won't  eat  rice 
Goliah  cook  !     But  den  I'se  bery  scornful  !" 


'--^,'- 


Fanning  and  pounding  rice  for  household  use. 

August  29. 

Chloe  and  Patty  went  to  the  funeral  "sarmint,"  and  it  was 
grand.  The  eulogies  of  the  departed  were  satisfactory  to  all. 
They  left  in  the  buckboard  at  10  o'clock  and  returned  at  dusk, 


376  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  church  being  six  miles  away.     When  I  asked  what  the 
preacher  said  about  Elsa,  Chloe  answered :  — 

"  'E  set  um  high,  but  eberybody  groan  an'  say  amen  to 
ebery  wud.  Fust  t'ing  'e  say  she  wus  a  fair'oman  ;  what  'e 
had  to  say  'e  say  to  yo'  face.  She  wusn't  tale  bearer,  she 
wusn't  'struction  maker.  She  wus  a  stewardness  of  de 
chutch  en  always  fait'ful.  She  house  wus  a  place  fo'  de 
preecher  en  de  elda'  to  fin'  a  home  w'en  eber  dey  kum.  En 
de  feebla'  en  de  olda'  she  husband  git,  de  mo'  she  was  'evoted 
to  him ;  nobody  neber  hear  um  say  she  tyad,  nite  en  day  she 
nuss  um ;  she  was  a  wirtue  to  im,  en  a  sample  to  de  yung 
womens." 

I  could  not  help  thinking  Solomon  could  not  say  more  for 
the  woman  whose  value  he  set  above  rubies. 

I  have  had  a  very  peaceful  day.  I  did  not  feel  strong 
enough  to  go  to  church.  Goliah  boiled  the  rice  beautifully, 
and  I  made  my  dinner  of  rice  and  milk  and 
rested.  The  heat  has  been  fierce  lately  and  I 
feel  wilted,  but  the  first  autumn  month  will  soon 
be  here. 

September  1. 

The  papers  tell  of  floods  everywhere,  but  they 

have  not  yet  reached  us.     The  Pee  Dee  is 

reported   higher  at  Cheraw  than  it  has 

ever  been.     It    takes   its    rise  in   a 

spring  under  Grandfather  Mountain 

in  North  Carolina,  and  so  a  rainy  season  in 

Pounding  rice,     the  mountains  or  melting  snows  always  give 

us  a  disastrous  freshet,  now  that  the  banks 

have  been  stripped  of  trees,  the  whole  of  its  long  and  winding 

course. 

September  3. 

Bonaparte  sent  me  word  last  night  that  the  water  had  made 
a  great  rise  during  the  day  and  I  had  better  come  down  early. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  377 

I  could  not  get  breakfast  in  time,  so  I  took  a  glass  of  cold 
coffee  and  a  piece  of  bread,  and  went. 

The  barn  with  my  rice,  a  very  large  two  story  building, 
was  surrounded  by  water  about  fifty  feet.  With  the  aid  of 
a  boat  Bonaparte  made  a  very  swaying  bridge  and  I  went  in 
with  all  the  empty  sacks  which  could  be  gathered,  and  meas- 
ured and  bagged  the  rice,  removed  a  plank  from  the  flooring 
of  the  barn  above,  and  had  the  seventy-five  bushels  taken  up. 

There  was  no  time  to  call  hands,  as  the  water  was  rising 
rapidly  to  the  floor  where  the  rice  was  piled,  so  Gibbie  and 
Dab  with  Bonaparte  did  it  all.  We  had  an  active  and  very 
dusty  morning,  but  unless  the  foundations  of  the  barn  give 
way  the  rice  is  safe. 

I  was  perfectly  charmed  to  find  I  had  so  much,  for  I 
have  been  eating  it  and  paying  for  my  work  with  it  and 
trading  it  for  two  years ;  it  has  been  a  perfect  widow's 
cruse. 

Coming  home  the  clay  gully  was  so  high  that  the  water 
came  into  the  buckboard.  Ruth  didn't  like  it  and  pulled 
until  she  broke  the  harness,  but  we  got  out  safely. 

September  4. 

All  the  roads  we  usually  travel  are  impassable,  the  bridges 
under  water  or  floating.  The  men  go  through  a  cart  path 
which  avoids  the  bridges,  but  it  is  a  roundabout  way  and  does 
not  help  me  a  bit,  so  I  just  plunge  through  the  clay  gully 
every  day. 

All  the  men  are  in  despair.  The  entire  rice  crop  is  about 
four  feet  under  water  and  there  is  very  little  hope  of  saving 
any.  I  have  been  so  unhappy  because  I  had  not  planted  any 
rice  and  accused  myself  of  supineness  because  I  was  afraid 
of  going  into  debt  to  plant  any,  and  now  I  am  so  filled  with 
thanksgiving  that  I  didn't,  and  feel  that  I  was  specially 
guided  not  to  do  it. 


378  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

September  5. 

Poor  Gibbie  is  so  determined  not  to  work  that  he  has  broken 
the  plough.  I  was  very  anxious  to  have  land  for  turnips  and 
rape  prepared  and  Gibbie  could  only  get  out  of  it  by  breaking 
all  three  of  the  ploughs.  Then  I  got  him  to  mowing  the  hay, 
and  he  promptly  broke  the  mowing  machine. 

The  cause  of  these  mishaps  is  Gibbie's  sporting  tastes.  All 
the  men  on  the  place,  who  will  not  pay  their  rent,  are  over  the 
river  with  guns  making  large  bags  of  game  of  different  sorts. 
The  poor  rabbits  and  other  things  having  taken  refuge  on 
any  knoll  or  stump  and  are  easily  shot  as  the  water  recedes. 

I  might  as  well  give  up  any  effort  to  have  work  done  until 
the  waters  have  entirely  subsided.  The  damage  from  the 
freshet  is  wide-spread,  but  thank  God !  no  loss  of  life  or  cattle. 

September  6. 

In  the  corn-field  all  day.  We  never  gather  and  house 
corn  as  early  as  this,  but  the  stealing  is  so  much  worse  than 
usual  that  it  is  either  now  or  never.  I  could  only  get  the 
women  out,  so  I  made  Goliah  do  the  hauling.  I  rode  Romola, 
and  she  was  very  disagreeable  and  restless. 

September  7. 

In  the  corn-field  yesterday  and  to-day.  A  perfect  day,  and 
the  air  crisp  and  not  too  hot.  Oh,  the  beauty  of  the  sky  and 
air  and  trees  and  the  black-eyed  Susans  and  goldenrod  every- 
where !  Oh,  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  in  making  all 
this  beauty  and  showering  it  on  us  unsatisfactory,  discon- 
tented, grumbling  mortals  ! 

As  I  sit  mider  a  tree  and  drink  in  all  this  beauty  and  won- 
der, I  resolve  never  to  think  myself  hardly  used,  never  to 
long  after  the  yellow  gold  which  greases  the  wheels  of  the 
world  and  makes  life  so  easy,  while  I  have  all  this  golden 
glory  of  beauty  and  sunshine,  and  the  power  to  see  it  and 
enjoy  it  to  the  full. 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  379 

The  week's  stay  in  the  field  has  rewarded  me.  I  have  in 
the  barn  550  bushels  of  corn  and  about  two  tons  of  sweet, 
dry  hay  —  only  the  first  cutting  and  not  a  drop  of  rain  on  it. 

Last  Wednesday  Gibbie  asked  me  to  lend  him  my  canoe. 
I  hesitated,  for  it  is  a  very  nice  white  boat.     He  said :  — 

"Miss,  ef  you'll  len'  me  I'll  be  keerful  wid  um  en  I'll  gi'e 
you  some  bud  fo'  pay  fo'  um  ebry  day." 

I  at  once  consented  to  let  him  have  it  if  he  would  give  me 
a  dozen  birds  as  rent. 

The  next  morning  I  went  down  to  the  plantation  with  the 
pleasant  expectation  of  having  a  nice  dinner ;  the  rice  birds 
are  tiny,  but  delicious.  When  I  was  leaving  I  asked  Gibbie 
where  my  birds  were,  he  brought  out  three  and  said  they 
had  had  a  poor  night's  sport. 

The  next  day  he  said  there  were  none,  as  there  was  no  dew 
and  they  could  not  get  them  when  there  was  no  dew.  Fri- 
day night  there  was  too  much  wind,  he  said. 

On  Monday,  when  I  asked  him,  he  said  he  didn't  go  out 
Saturday  night,  as  it  was  too  close  to  Sunday  and  he  had  to 
prepare  for  church.  I  thought  that  quite  proper  and  only 
said  incidentally,  as  it  were  :  — 

"And  you  did  not  go  last  night?" 

"Oh,  no,  ma'am;  not  Sunday  night.  I  wouldn't  do  sich 
a  t'ing." 

I  thought  how  careful  Gibbie  was  to  observe  the  Fourth 
Commandment,  as  they  begin  their  operations  about  2  a.m., 
but  I  said  nothing  and  left  the  garden  where  he  was  working. 
As  I  left  he  turned  to  Goliah  and  took  out  of  his  pocket  a 
five-dollar  bill  and  said  :  — ■ 

"Look  w'at  I  make  Saturday  en  Sunday  night !" 

Goliah  told  Chloe  how  Gibbie  had  showed  him  the  money 
and  told  him  that  no  night  since  he  had  the  boat  had  he  made 
less  than  $2.  This  evening  I  told  him  I  could  not  let  him  have 
the  boat  any  more,  as  he  had  been  so  unsuccessful. 


380  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

He  raised  his  voice  and  declared  solemnly  he  hadn't  been 
out  but  the  one  night  and  had  given  me  three  birds,  which  he 
intimated  was  handsome,  and  talked  on  in  an  injured  voice. 
I  only  laughed  and  said  I  was  sorry  he  was  so  unlucky ;  that 
I  could  not  lend  my  boat  any  more. 

They  take  lightwood  torches  and  thresh  the  bushes  with 
a  long  rod  or  switch  and  kill  the  birds,  often  getting  two 
or  three  bushels  in  a  night,  which  they  sell  to  men  waiting 
on  the  banks  for  35  cents  a  dozen. 

I  have  made  another  effort  to  get  the  men  to  pay  their 
house  rent  now  that  they  are  making  so  much  money  so  easily, 
but  in  vain.  As  some  one  said  to  me  the  other  day:  "I 
never  realized  the  power  of  a  lie  until  recently  !  Any  one 
who  can  make  a  plausible  lie  and  stick  to  it,  seems  impreg- 
nable." 

It  is  an  awful  thought,  for  we  know  who  is  the  father  of 
lies,  the  Prince  of  Darkness.  There  is  no  shaking  my  faith, 
however,  in  the  ultimate  triumph  in  that  never  ending,  to- 
the-death  struggle  between  the  powers  of  darkness  and  light, 
—  that  the  light  will  conquer  every  stronghold  of  darkness 
until  the  perfect  day  reigns  the  world  over. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

September  8. 

ROSE  at  five  and  read  the  lessons  on  the  piazza  and  then 
churned.  There  is  certainly  a  wonderful  freshness  and 
life  in  the  early  morning  air,  a  kind  of  inspiration  in 
watching  the  birth  of  a  new  day.  I  get  terribly  hungry,  how- 
ever, before  I  can  get  any  breakfast.  This  morning  a  delight- 
ful waiter  arrived.  It  had  shrimps  and  flounders  fresh  from 
the  sea  and  great  yellow  pears  with  one  red  cheek. 

I  did  not  go  to  the  plantation,  so  had  a  day  off  and  enjoyed 
it  thoroughly.  I  have  a  most  delightful  book  which  I  have 
been  pining  to  read,  but  had  to  resist  until  to-day.  It  is 
the  life  of  Alice  Freeman  Palmer,  and  no  words  can  express 
the  refreshment  and  uplift  it  has  given  me. 

I  wish  I  could  give  the  book  to  every  young  woman  in 
whom  I  am  interested. 

September  9. 

A  brilliant  morning.  I  tried  to  get  to  church  in  time  and 
succeeded.  All  the  invalids  out,  which  was  such  a  comfort. 
Our  rector  gave  us  a  very  good  sermon  on  prayer.  There 
was  a  terrible  mix-up  in  the  choir  in  the  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis." 
I  sang  one,  while  Miss  Penelope  played  another  !  The  results 
were  truly  heartrending,  which  was  a  pity.  Still,  the  in- 
tentions were  good,  and  we  were  both  so  in  earnest,  that  we 
could  not  stop,  apparently.  The  worse  the  sounds  were  the 
more  we  persevered. 

September  10. 

Every  effort  that  I  have  made  to  induce  the  men  to  pay 
their  rent  has  been  vain.     Last  evening  as  I  was  coming 

381 


382  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

back  from  Casa  Bianca  late  in  the  afternoon,  feeling  very 
discouraged,  I  saw  Green  ahead  of  me  carrying  a  pair  of 
wild  ducks  and  a  string  of  coots.  He  was  going  toward 
Peaceville  and  I  had  a  moment  of  satisfaction,  for  I  thought 
he  was  taking  them  to  me  to  pay  on  his  rent.  So  as  I  came 
up  with  him  I  said  in  a  cheery  voice :  — 

"My,  Green,  I  am  so  glad  you  are  bringing  me  those 
ducks  and  coots.     I  have  only  eaten  one  coot  this  year." 

Always  civil,  Green  answered  in  his  softest  voice:  "No, 
ma'am,  dese  don't  b'longs  to  me ;  dey  b'longs  to  dat  gent'man 
ahaid,"  pointing  to  a  negro  man  who  was  walking  about  five 
hundred  yards  ahead. 

I  could  say  nothing.  I  knew  it  was  not  so.  I  knew  they 
were  Green's,  shot  on  my  place,  and  if  he  had  given  them  to 
me  it  would  have  reduced  his  debt  from  $9  to  $7.50,  and 
though  I  specially  needed  money  I  was  willing  to  take  any- 
thing to  help  him  make  a  start. 

September  11. 

Yesterday  Cable  came  to  see  me.  I  have  been  sending 
after  him  for  some  time,  but  couldn't  catch  sight  of  him. 
After  a  few  polite  inquiries  as  to  health  he  said  he  heard  I 
wanted  to  see  him. 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "I  have  sent  for  you  many  times,  I  want  you 
to  cut  some  wood  for  me." 

"On  what  'rangment,  Miss?" 

"For  half,"  I  answered,  "and  I  will  furnish  the  flat  without 
charge." 

He  said  he  could  not  cut  wood  for  that  —  it  was  too  little, 
$1.25  a  cord  did  not  pay  him  for  his  time.  After  some  little 
talk  I  found  that  it  was  a  waste  of  time  to  try  to  get  the  wood 
cut,  so  I  said :  — 

"You  have  not  done  a  stroke  of  work  for  me  since  April 
9,  when  you  helped  fill  the  boiler;  you  have  your  house 
rent  free,  all  of  the  fire  wood  you  wish  to  use,  and  two  acres 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  383 

of  fine  land  around  your  house  on  which  you  have  a  very 
good  crop  of  corn ;  and  yet  you  have  never  been  willing  during 
these  four  months  to  do  anything  for  me.  You  owe  $9 
for  the  steer  you  got  and  begged  me  to  give  you  time  to  pay. 
You  have  had  it  eighteen  months  and  made  money  by  its 
work  but  never  have  offered  one  quarter  of  a  dollar  on  it. 

"Then  in  January  you  came  in  great  distress  about  your 
wheel,  said  you  had  given  it  to  a  man  to  mend  and  that  he 
charged  $2  and  that  you  were  not  willing  to  pay  it  when 
you  had  the  money,  and  now  that  he  had  sent  you  word  that 
he  was  going  to  sell  the  wheel  unless  you  paid  at  once,  and 
begged  me  to  lend  you  the  $2  and  you  would  return  it 
soon  or  at  any  rate  work  it  out.  But  you  have  never  paid 
a  cent  of  it.  In  March  when  I  paid  you  $7.85  for  cutting 
wood  and  reminded  you  of  your  debt,  asking  you  to  pay 
something  on  it,  you  pleaded  with  me  not  to  take  anything 
then,  you  had  a  particular  use  for  the  money,  and  believing 
you,  I  consented.  You  say  you  have  been  getting  one 
dollar  a  day  where  you  have  been  working,  and  surely  you 
could  have  made  an  effort  to  pay  something  on  your  debt. 

' '  Now  I  want  you  to  work  for  me ;  as  you  will  not  cut  wood, 
go  down  to  the  plantation  at  once  and  tell  Bonaparte  I  have 
sent  you  to  drive  the  mowing  machine.  Jim  will  not  be 
there  until  one  or  two  o'clock  and  I  want  the  hay  cut  this 
morning.  Cut  one  bed,  it  will  not  take  long,  and  then  help 
Jim  haul  in  what  he  has  raked  up.  Go  as  quickly  as  you  can, 
for  I  must  get  as  much  done  as  possible,  the  clouds  are 
gathering." 

He  acquiesced  at  once  and  I  told  him  I  wanted  him  to  run 
the  mowing  machine  all  this  week ;  it  was  then  about  ten 
o'clock.  In  the  afternoon  I  drove  down  and  found  Cable 
had  just  turned  up  at  four  o'clock ;  when  I  asked  him  about 
it  he  said,  "Yes,  ma'am,  I  won't  tell  no  story  about  it.  I  did 
stop  on  the  way,"  and  that  was  all.     Of  course  the  hay  was 


384  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

not  cut  and  only  two  loads  were  hauled  in,  and  last  night 
there  came  a  tremendous  rain  wetting  it  all  so  that  all  wind- 
rows had  to  be  opened  and  spread  out  again,  and  to-day 
Cable  did  not  come  to  work,  and  I  have  no  possible  redress 
or  power  over  him.  Of  course  every  one  will  say  I  was  foolish 
to  trust  him  in  the  first  instance ;  but  I  am  made  that  way 
and  I  cannot  unmake  myself ;  if  any  one  living  near  me  ap- 
peals to  me  in  distress,  if  I  have  the  money  at  hand,  I  will 
lend  to  them,  and  time  and  time  again  I  am  deceived  and 
disappointed.     I  said  to  him: — ■ 

"Neither  of  your  grandfathers  would  have  acted  as  you 
have  done.  Daddy  James  was  an  honest  man  and  never 
tried  to  shirk  a  debt,  but  you,  though  you  are  free  and  have 
schooling  and  all  the  help  that  a  good,  industrious  wife  can 
give  in  your  life,  are  not  ashamed  to  act  so." 

I  am  more  hurt  than  I  can  express  by  his  not  coming  back 
to  work.  Jim  has  worked  tremendously  to  try  and  save  the 
hay,  and  now  all  that  is  standing  should  be  cut,  or  it  will  be 
hard  and  worthless.  While  there  is  so  much  down  that  has 
to  be  dried  and  handled,  another  man  is  absolutely  necessary. 

September  12. 

About  9  o'clock  Chloe  came  in  great  distress  to  say  she  had 
just  heard  her  Uncle  Mose  was  dead.  Chloe  was  greatly 
upset  at  the  news. 

September  13. 

A  real  autumn  morning.  The  first  let-up  to  the  heat.  I 
thought  in  the  night  we  were  going  to  have  another  storm. 
I  prayed  hard  against  it,  for  my  pea-vine  hay  would  be  ruined. 
This  morning  the  east  wind  is  high  but  it  looks  brighter. 

Chloe's  getting  off  to  old  Close's  funeral  occupied  the  whole 
morning  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else.  Goliah  drove 
her  in  the  buckboard  with  Ruth. 

I  have  the  cotton  which  has  been  picked  spread  out  on  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  385 

piazza  to  dry  thoroughly.  After  Chloe  got  off  I  sat  on  a 
stool  beside  it  and  picked  out  the  cotton,  which  was  greatly 
damaged  by  the  wet.  The  cotton  was  just  ready  to  open 
when  the  storm  came.  It  was  arrested  and  kept  in  the 
close  little  case  soaking  wet,  and  then  nature  was  busy  and 
little  sprouts  came  and  went  on  growing  as  though  they  were 
in  their  proper  element. 

I  took  out  a  little  pinkish  tight  wad  and  opening  it  care- 
fully there,  folded  up  in  the  middle,  I  found  a  little  green  leaf. 
Of  course  these  would  injure  the  quality  of  the  cotton,  yet 
it  was  impossible  to  have  them  kept  separate  in  the  picking, 
so  I  pick  them  out  when  it  is  spread  out  in  the  sun. 

While  I  was  doing  this  Jim  came  to  get  orders  and  I  had 
him  pick  a  while.  I  commented  on  Goliah's  delight  and  ex- 
citement over  a  death  and  funeral.  He  had  been  so  sick  and 
miserable  yesterday  that  he  went  home  about  4  o'clock,  but 
being  sent  to  tell  Chloe  the  news  he  came  to  the  yard  and 
then  took  her  out  to  the  street  and  escorted  her  back  here 
again  about  half  past  ten.  He  was  eager  to  go  to  the  "settin' 
up,"  six  miles  up  the  road,  but  could  find  no  one  willing  to 
walk  up  there  with  him.     I  said  :  — 

"I  do  not  think  there  is  anything  in  which  the  races  differ 
more  entirely  than  in  their  attitude  to  death.  No  white 
child  wishes  to  have  anything  to  do  with  death  ;  they  fly  from 
the  signs  and  tokens  of  it,  whereas  the  children  of  the  African 
race  seem  to  be  attracted  by  it." 

Jim  answered:  "What  you  say  must  be  true,  Miss  Pen- 
nington, for  nothin'  gives  me  more  pleasure  than  to  handle 
the  dead.  I  just  delights  in  it  an'  I  have  great  luck  in  it,  too  ; 
scarcely  a  person  dies  but  what  I  have  the  privilege  of  jump- 
ing down  in  the  grave  and  receiving  the  body  an'  makin'  it 
comfortable  in  there." 

I  was  quite  startled.     He  went  on  :  — 

"  W'en  I  cum  frum  town  an'  fin'  that  they'd  buried  Georgie 
2c 


386  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

without  my  bein'  there  to  handle  her  I  was  that  disappointed 
I  couldn't  scarcely  stand  it." 

He  had  gone  to  town  before  Georgie  died  one  afternoon  and 
she  was  buried  the  next  before  he  came  back.  It  is  curious 
to  see  racial  peculiarities  continue  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration. There  is  no  repulsion  to  or  fear  of  death  among 
negroes  as  long  as  the  clay  is  visible,  but  as  soon  as  the  funeral 
is  over  and  the  grave  is  left,  then  terror  begins.  Jim  himself 
does  not  like  to  walk  down  the  front  avenue  alone  at  night, 
because  it  is  so  near  the  beautiful  spot  where  those  of  his 
race  who  have  died  here,  have  been  buried  for  over  a  hundred 
years.  And  still  they  come.  It  does  not  matter  if  they  have 
died  elsewhere  if  they  are  prosperous,  and  even  if  it  is  a 
mighty  effort  they  beg  to  be  brought  "home"  and  laid  by 
their  people.  As  my  father  owned  600  when  the  war  ended, 
it  makes  a  number  of  funerals,  for  all  the  descendants  of  those 
want  to  be  laid  here.  There  is  something  very  touching 
about  it  to  me. 

I  am  very  anxious  to  put  a  wire  fence  around  the  spot.  I 
think  it  must  be  nearly  two  acres,  and  I  do  not  like  the  ani- 
mals to  have  the  run  of  it.  Two  or  three  years  ago  I  told 
the  people  that  if  each  family  would  contribute  something 
toward  the  wire  I  would  put  up  the  fence,  giving  the  cedar 
posts,  and  the  expense  of  putting  it  up.  A  number  brought 
a  quarter  each,  so  that  I  have  $4  toward  the  wire.  Things 
have  been  so  with  me  for  several  years  that  I  cannot  make  up 
the  sum  lacking,  so  the  fence  must  wait  a  while  longer. 

September  15. 
My  poor,  dear  Chloe  was  so  excited  after  old  Mose's  funeral 
that  she  came  last  night  and  stood  talking  until  eleven.  I 
was  frantic  to  finish  a  horrible  French  play  I  was  reading  — 
it  is  in  five  acts,  and  I  am  so  tired  of  its  wickedness,  and  I  can- 
not finish  it.     When  I  saw  she  had  started  on  a  regular  talk  I 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  387 

got  my  sewing  and  did  a  lot  of  work  —  put  the  whole  frill  I 
have  scalloped  on  to  the  skirt. 

She  said  the  funeral  had  been  grand.  Michael  had  spoken 
beautifully  about  "Uncle  Mose"  and  given  him  such  a 
character ;  said  that  white  and  black  respected  him  and  were 
kind  to  him,  and  when  he  had  said  all  that  you  would  think 
could  be  said,  Harris  had  taken  it  up  and  praised  him  more. 

"En,  Miss  Pashuns,  dem  call  yo'  name  too.  Bre'  Harris 
say,  en  de  chile  of  his  ole  Marster  thought  dat  mutch  ob  Bre' 
Mose  dat  she  sen'  fo'  tell  um  say  she  was  gwine  to  give  him, 
a  oxen  for  him  to  put  in  a  little  cart  to  drive  out  wid." 

Moses  had  sold  his  fine  pair  of  oxen  some  few  years  back. 
With  the  price  of  one  he  paid  for  having  a  cataract  removed 
from  his  eyes,  and  the  rest  of  the  money  he  asked  me  to  keep 
for  him,  and  it  lasted  him  four  years,  I  think.  He  would 
send  his  grandson,  a  little  boy,  down  with  a  note  to  ask  me 
to  send  one,  or  five  dollars,  as  the  case  might  be.  Chloe  went 
back  to  the  time  about  twenty  years  ago  when  he  planted 
rice  here,  when  he  had  always  from  $300  to  $400  in  the  bank ; 
but  his  health  failed  and  he  had  to  move  away  from  the  plan- 
tation to  the  pineland  because  the  "tissic"  was  not  so  bad 
in  the  pineland  as  on  the  river.  It  was  very  touching  to 
hear  all  she  had  to  say.  She  wound  up  by  saying  why  she 
was  so  glad  that  the  minister  was  absent,  for  she  said :  — 

"Dis  preecher  don'  keer  fu'  nuthin'  but  money  —  dey  ain't 
no  money  un  a  funeral,  en  he  jes'  hurry  thro'  en  don'  hav' 
no  proper  preechin',  neider  talkin'  nor  singin',  let  lone  prayin', 
en,  Miss  Pashuns,  he's  a  black  man  too,  en  dat  mek  it  wuss." 

"Why,"  I  asked,  "does  that  make  it  worse?" 

"Bekase  eberybody  kno'  mulatta  lub  money,  en  dey  look 
fu'  dat,  but  w'en  yu  see  a  daa'k  complected  man,  same  color 
'bout  as  me,  yu  don't  look  fu'  dat,  kase  dat  cola'  don'  lub 
money  like  dat." 

That  was  news  to  me.     I  did  not  know  that  what  she 


388  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

called  "light-skinned"  people  were  more  avaricious  than 
black.  I  was  disposed  to  argue  on  the  subject,  but  Chloe 
was  emphatic. 

"Nigger  get  dem  fault,  'tis  true,  but  dem  don't  wushop 
money."  With  this  high  praise  for  her  own  special  color 
she  said  good  night. 

Jim  and  Joe  Keith  have  had  a  tremendous  day's  work  bring- 
ing in  the  hay.  The  ox  wagon  has  a  very  long,  high  rack 
body,  and  that  was  packed  just  as  tight  as  it  could  be  ten 
times. 

My  dear  little  Scottie  dog  came  and  sat  very  close  to  me 
to-day  and  looked  at  me  with  very  sad  eyes  and  dribbling 
badly  from  the  mouth.  I  am  too  distressed  because  that  is 
the  way  my  former  little  terrier  dog's  last  illness  began. 

Went  to  Cherokee,  taking  Chloe,  for  I  was  to  have  the 
peanut  crop  harvested  and  I  felt  I  needed  all  the  eyes  possible. 
Goliah  worked  finely  and  it  was  a  successful  day.  The  pea- 
nuts turned  out  so  well  I  had  to  send  for  two  extra  hands 
to  get  them  all  in. 

I  would  feel  very  proud  of  the  yield  if  there  were  not  so 
many  "pops"  in  them.  Hypocrites  they  are.  They  look 
perfectly  solid  and  plausible  and  when  you  break  the  shell 
there  is  nothing  in  it.  I  should  have  used  more  lime  in  the 
land. 

Walked  down  early  into  the  cotton-field,  and  found  it  full 
of  tracks  of  bare  feet,  so  many  different  ones  that  I  think 
every  one  on  the  place  had  been  out  stealing  cotton.  Jim 
was  away  to-day,  so  they  had  no  fear  of  being  caught.  There 
is  no  one  else  who  would  tell  me  if  he  saw  them  there.  I  have 
felt  sure  this  was  going  on  because  I  have  watched  the  cotton 
and  know  that  from  day  to  day  it  disappears.  There  is  no 
hope  of  making  anything. 

At  a  store  near-by  they  buy  seed  cotton  in  any  quantity, 
paying  3^  cents  a  pound.     Little  Jim-Willin',  who  can  pick 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  389 

twenty  pounds  in  a  day,  can  go  and  sell  that  amount  for  70 
cents,  and  no  questions  asked.  If  they  pick  every  morning 
during  the  two  hours  they  know  Jim  is  milking  and  attend- 
ing to  the  horses,  they  can  get  all  the  cotton  as  fast  as  it 
comes  out.  I  have  wondered  because  it  opened  so  slowly 
that  I  can  only  pick  once  a  week. 

To-night  little  MacDuff  seems  very  sick.  At  9  I  get 
Chloe  to  go  out  with  me  and  I  put  him  in  the  little  wire  en- 
closure so  that  the  other  dogs  cannot  worry  him ;  gave  him 
milk,  of  which  he  drank  a  very  little,  and  put  a  big  pan  of 
water  for  him. 

September  16. 

This  morning  when  I  went  to  see  MacDuff  I  took  him  some 
griddle  cakes,  which  he  prefers  to  anything  else.  He  tried 
to  eat  and  had  a  dreadful  convulsion.  I  sent  Jim  for  hot 
water  and  bathed  him.  Then  he  seemed  much  better,  walked 
to  the  fresh  water  I  had  brought,  and  drank  heartily.  Then 
he  went  and  tried  to  eat,  but  the  same  thing  came  on,  only 
not  so  severe.  He  has  a  sore  place  on  the  side  of  his  mouth 
and  also  on  his  tail.  The  flies  worry  him  so  I  have  rigged  up 
a  little  mosquito  net  for  him. 

Dear  little  Duff  much  the  same.  He  would  not  take  the 
milk  I  brought  him  nor  eat,  but  he  dipped  his  nose  deep  into 
the  basin  of  water  very  often.  I  think  his  jaws  are  locked, 
and  so  he  cannot  lap  with  his  tongue  as  dogs  generally  do, 
but  he  can  draw  in  water  through  the  sides,  when  he  buries 
his  whole  mouth  in  the  water.  It  is  distressing,  to  see  him 
suffer.  I  do  not  think  he  is  in  pain,  but  he  must  die  if  he 
can  neither  eat  nor  drink.  I  had  to  try  to  force  his  mouth 
open  and  pour  some  milk  down,  but  I  saw  it  hurt  him  and 
it  did  no  good.     His  gums  seem  very  sore  and  inflamed. 

To-night  I  finished  reading  "Queed,"  a  most  delightful 
novel,  that  leaves  a  good  taste  in  your  mouth,  which  is  more 
than  can  be  said  of  many. 


390  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

September  17. 

Found  my  dear  little  dog  dead,  when  I  went  out  to  him 
this  morning,  my  little  silent  partner.  I  will  miss  him  sorely. 
I  thought  it  best  to  bury  him  at  once  on  account  of  the  other 
dogs,  though  I  was  sorry  to  do  it  without  Jim,  who  has  been 
so  good  to  him. 

Goliah  felt  most  important  in  having  to  dig  the  grave, 
which  was  hard  work,  for  I  wanted  it  very  deep.  It  took 
him  a  long  time.  Chloe,  Lizette,  and  I,  all  assisted.  About 
eighteen  inches  below  this  sandy  soil  is  a  thick  stratum  of 
very  stiff  clay. 

I  had  some  trouble  to  find  a  suitable  box,  but  did  find  one, 
and  then  I  put  him  in  myself  and  put  his  ivory  back  brush 
in  with  him  and  his  mosquito  net,  then  covered  him  with  the 
soft  gray  moss  and  closed  the  box  and  lowered  it  into  the 
grave  with  ropes.  Had  Don  and  Prince  in  leash  looking  on. 
When  we  had  finished  filling  in  the  earth,  I  said  a  little  prayer 
asking  the  help  of  the  Good  Father  to  be  as  faithful  to  my 
duty  as  this  little  dumb  beast  had  been  to  his. 

I  always  remember  that  seventh  verse  of  the  thirty- 
sixth  psalm  of  David,  which  comes  in  the  Psalter  for  the 
seventh  day,  morning  prayer,  "Thou,  Lord,  shalt  save  both 
man  and  beast ;  how  excellent  is  thy  mercy,  O  Lord."  We 
cannot  fathom  the  mercy  of  the  Infinite  One. 

Just  as  I  finished  Jim  came  and  was  quite  shocked  and 
distressed.  We  had  thought  MacDuff  much  better  when  he 
left  yesterday.  He  said  I  ought  to  have  waited  for  him. 
Chloe,  Lizette,  and  Goliah  had  made  quite  a  tall  mound  of 
clay  over  him  and  Jim  begged  me  to  let  him  take  it  down  and 
rearrange  it.     Chloe  said  :  — 

"I  tell  Miss  Pashuns  'tain't  de  fashion  to  hab  a  high  grabe, 
but  him  say  mus'  put  all  de  clay  on." 

I  had  scattered  white  clover  seed  over  the  mound,  but  I 
let  Jim  do  what  he  wished  and  he  spent  some  time  over  it; 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  391 

made  a  neat  little  mound  the  shape  of  a  casket,  then  planted 
clover  over  it,  and  got  some  plants  of  petunia  I  had  in  a  box, 
and  planted  them  there.  At  the  same  time  he  made  up 
little  Zero's  grave,  which  had  got  quite  flat,  and  planted 
flowers  and  clover  there. 

I  made  the  others  rake  up  all  the  leaves  and  trash  and 
burned  it.  I  was  afraid  the  other  dogs  might  catch  the 
disease,  whatever  it  was  —  spinal  meningitis  or  lockjaw,  I 
think.  This  ends  the  chapter  of  one  faithful  little  unit  who 
did  his  best  always. 

Peaceville,  Monday,  September  18,  8  a.m.,  1906. 

It  has  been  blowing  a  gale  all  night  and  the  mercury  has 
fallen  nearly  to  fifty  and  I  am  looking  into  my  trunks  to  find 
something  thick  to  put  on.  Yesterday  was  a  perfect  autumn 
day  but  with  just  a  little  something  in  the  air  that  suggested 
a  storm  and  made  me  name  Mosell's  splendid  new  calf 
Equinox,  and  to-day  there  is  no  chance  of  having  any  kind  of 
work  done,  for  though  the  wind  is  so  high  the  rain  is  falling 
steadily.  11  a.m.,  the  storm  is  raging  and  as  usual  I  am 
greatly  excited  and  exhilarated  by  it.  The  voice  of  the 
Great  Creator  seems  to  be  so  distinct  in  the  storm;  "The 
floods  clap  their  hands  and  the  waves  rage  horribly,  but  the 
Lord  is  mightier." 

Four  large  pine  trees  have  fallen  in  front  of  the  house,  and 
it  shakes  every  now  and  then  as  though  it  must  fall.  Minty 
is  terrified,  but  Chloe  stands  firm,  trying  to  quiet  Minty's 
fright.  I  sought  out  a  sheltered  corner  of  the  piazza  and 
told  her  to  take  her  work-basket  and  go  on  with  her  darning, 
as  I  know  occupation  is  a  great  soother  to  the  nerves ;  she 
seemed  much  calmer  and  I  went  in  to  follow  my  own  pre- 
scription and  write,  when  she  came  rushing  in  crying  aloud,  the 
immense  Water  Oak  just  at  the  north  of  the  house  had 
fallen,  and  taken  off  the  corner  of  the  shed.     Most  fortunately 


392  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

the  wind  was  west  of  north ;  the  whole  house  would  have 
been  crushed  if  it  had  been  due  north.  Even  Chloe  seemed 
a  little  upset  at  this,  so  I  called  them  into  the  sitting  room  and 
standing  I  read  the  93d  Psalm  and  then  we  knelt  for  a  short 
but  earnest  prayer  and  then  I  said,  "Now  that  we  have  put 
ourselves  into  God's  keeping,  we  need  have  no  fear."  The 
effect  was  wonderful ;  Minty  did  not  give  way  to  her  terror 
any  more. 

2  P.M. 

Standing  in  the  piazza  it  is  a  strange  sight ;  huge  pines 
falling  on  all  sides;  the  roar  of  the  wind  is  so  great  that  one 
does  not  hear  the  falling  of  the  trees.  Many  are  snapped  off 
halfway  up  as  though  they  were  splinters,  while  others  are 
rooted  up,  the  huge  mass  of  roots  standing  up  ten  feet  in  the 
air. 

The  wind  is  moving  round  slowly  from  N.W.  to  N.E. ; 
if  it  gets  due  east  blowing  at  its  present  rate  this  house  must 
fall ;  for  there  are  two  defective  sills  and  four  blocks,  and  if 
the  wind  ever  gets  under  the  huge  shed  of  the  piazza  to  the 
east  and  south,  it  would  lift  the  whole  house  from  the  under- 
pinnings. I  have  told  Chloe  she  must  boil  some  rice  on  the 
kerosene  heater  in  the  dining  room,  as  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  attempt  a  fire  in  the  kitchen,  and  every  one  is  exhausted. 
If  we  are  to  have  the  house  fall  over  us  it  is  better  to  be  in 
condition  to  stand  it.  Chloe  is  most  reluctant  to  obey  me, 
she  seems  to  think  it  will  be  a  disrespect  somehow  to  the  storm, 
but  we  do  not  know  how  long  it  may  last,  so  I  insisted. 

Rab  has  just  come  in,  the  wind  having  lulled  a  little.  I 
have  been  very  anxious  about  him  as  I  sent  him  before  the 
wind  became  so  terrible  to  Miss  Penelope's  to  get  some 
groceries  and  ask  for  a  receipt  for  pepper  pickle.  He  tells 
me  Miss  Penelope's  house  has  been  destroyed  and  the  ladies 
had  all  run  out  into  the  storm  just  escaping  with  their  lives 
from  the  falling  bricks  and  rafters.     My  impulse  was  to  go 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER  393 

at  once  and  bring  them  up  here  to  stay  with  me ;  so  I  started 
out,  and  climbed  over  the  great  pine  which  had  fallen  across 
the  road  inside  the  gate ;  and  when  I  got  on  to  the  public 
road  I  found  a  solid  barricade  of  huge  pines  across  it  as  far 
as  I  could  see.  I  climbed  over  ten  and  then  felt  so  exhausted 
that  I  knew  it  would  be  folly  to  go  on.  When  I  got  back 
Chloe  brought  me  some  deliciously  cooked  rice  and  a  smoked 
herring,  and  it  seemed  to  me  the  nicest  thing  in  the  world, 
though  it  was  a  strange  thing  for  her  to  choose.  I  suppose 
she  had  overheard  me  talking  to  some  one  of  the  government 
experiments  as  to  the  strength  of  the  different  foods,  and 
how  they  had  found  salt  fish  a  most  nutritious  and  strength- 
giving  diet ;  it  certainly  proved  its  stimulating  qualities  on 
this  occasion. 

I  felt  quite  refreshed  and,  as  Rab  said  he  could  show  me 
a  way  to  go  around  the  trees,  I  started  out  again,  this  time 
under  his  guidance.  After  much  climbing  I  got  into  the  W's 
yard ;  the  number  of  prostrate  trees  was  amazing  and  such 
beauties.  As  I  passed  the  Rily  house  I  saw  it  was  a  complete 
ruin ;  a  part  of  the  roof  had  been  blown  away  about  300  yards. 

I  found  the  W's  in  a  little  one  room  cottage  which  for- 
tunately was  on  the  lot ;  they  were  soaking  wet,  but  were  so 
happy  to  be  alive  and  together  that  nothing  seemed  to  de- 
press them,  though  the  house  is  a  complete  wreck  and  in 
such  a  tottering  condition  that  nothing  can  be  got  out.  I 
begged  them  to  come  home  with  me,  but  they  said  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  leave,  and  by  the  time  I  had  climbed 
over  all  the  barricading  trees  and  got  back  into  my  tottering 
house,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  wise.  They 
were  going  to  sit  up  all  night  in  the  cottage. 

Friday,  September  19. 
I  went  to  bed  and  slept  soundly  last  night.     I  find  very 
few  people  went  to  bed  at  all,  as  the  wind  continued  blow- 


394  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

ing  heavily  all  night ;  but  this  morning  it  has  lulled  and 
there  is  a  drizzling  rain  and  dull  gray  sky. 

I  sent  Jim  to  Gregory  Saturday  to  remain  there  and  bring 
R.  up,  as  he  had  written  me  he  would  be  there  Monday.  So 
there  was  no  one  at  Cherokee  but  Bonaparte  and  I  knew  he 
must  be  almost  frantic  there  alone,  and  as  I  could  hear  noth- 
ing of  what  had  happened  there  I  thought  it  was  my  duty 
to  make  an  effort  to  get  down  to  the  plantation.  So  I  had 
Rab  put  the  side-saddle  on  Ruth  this  morning  and  started 
off,  taking  Rab  along  on  foot ;  for  though  he  is  very  small, 
he  is  so  brave  and  intelligent  that  I  knew  he  would  be  a 
great  help.  He  was  delighted  to  go  and  very  proud  of  the 
position  of  escort. 

By  great  meandering  around  the  tops  of  trees,  and  jump- 
ing others,  through  people's  yards  I  made  my  way  to  the 
post-office.  There  I  met  Mr.  B.  and  Mr.  F.  who  said  it  was 
madness  to  attempt  to  go  down  to  the  plantation  on  horse- 
back. I  said  I  would  tie  my  horse  there  and  try  it  on  foot ; 
but  at  that  they  both  agreed  it  was  better  for  me,  if  I  in- 
sisted on  going,  to  ride  as  far  as  I  could,  and  then  tie  my  horse 
and  proceed  on  foot.  The  road  goes  two  miles  due  east  and 
then  makes  a  sharp  turn  and  continues  two  miles  due  south. 
About  a  hundred  yards  out  of  the  village  Mr.  R.  appeared, 
looking  haggard  and  weary ;  he  said  the  storm  had  been 
terrific  at  his  place,  he  had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  yester- 
day morning,  and  that  the  road  was  absolutely  impassable ; 
he  had  made  his  way  through  the  woods  and  it  had  taken 
him  hours  ;  but  he  told  me  there  was  no  hope  of  getting  along 
the  road  as  the  deep  ditch  on  each  side  and  the  trees  across 
it  made  it  impossible.  I  took  his  advice  and  struck  into 
the  woods,  greatly  against  Rab's  judgment,  and  Ruth  fought 
every  step  of  the  way.  My  hope  was  to  make  the  other 
side  of  the  triangle  by  going  in  a  southeasterly  direction, 
but  there  was  no  sign  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  sun  and  so 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  395 

nothing  but  instinct  to  go  by.  Rab  rolled  up  his  little  pants 
as  high  as  he  could,  the  continuous  rains  having  made  the 
woods  in  many  places  more  than  knee-deep  in  slush  and 
water. 

When  he  reached  any  specially  difficult  spot,  he  would 
fly  ahead  and  from  his  vantage  ground  call  to  the  recalci- 
trant Ruth,  "Cum  on,  Root,  look  a'  me,  I  git  ober  en  I  sure 
yu'se  bigger  den  me"  ;  and  the  mare,  who  is  far  too  human, 
and  had  taken  her  key-note  from  my  pessimistic  advisers 
at  the  P.O.,  would  seem  greatly  encouraged  by  Rab's  op- 
timism. 

It  seemed  to  me  a  perfect  miracle  when  we  finally  emerged 
from  the  woods,  just  where  I  had  hoped  to  strike  the  road, 
on  Cherokee  soil.  At  the  gate,  standing  looking  distractedly 
up  the  road,  I  came  upon  Bonaparte ;  he  looked  gaunt  and 
wild,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  called  out,  "Teng  God  ! 
I  look,  en  I  look,  en  I  look,  en  you  ain't  come." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "you  may  be  thankful  to  see  me  now,  for 
I  have  gone  through  great  perils  getting  here." 

The  faithful  old  man  walked  beside  my  horse,  and  told 
of  the  terrors  of  yesterday,  how  he  watched  his  chance  to 
go  from  the  barn-yard  to  the  house  and  back  again,  for  trees 
and  rafters  and  beams  were  flying  in  every  direction ;  and 
how  he  managed  to  get  the  five  horses  and  two  colts  into  the 
cow  stable,  and  how  no  sooner  had  he  done  it  than  the  horse 
stable  fell,  the  roof  blowing  away  a  hundred  yards,  and  then 
when  he  saw  the  cow  stable  shake  he  tried  to  get  them  out, 
but  they  would  not  come  out,  and  just  then  he  heard  a  great 
noise  and  behold  the  big  two-story  barn  packed  with  hay 
had  fallen  and  crushed  Jackson  (an  ox)  and  mashed  up  all 
the  wagons  and  other  farm  vehicles  and  implements  in  the 
shed  alongside.  And  then  the  shed  to  the  engine  room 
went,  and  then  the  screw,  for  carrying  the  rice  from  the  thrash- 
ing mill  to  the  shipping  barn  on  the  river,  went.     It  really 


396  A    WOMAN  EWE  PLANTER 

was  thrilling  to  hear  the  old  man's  graphic  narrative,  and  how 
he  and  all  the  animals  escaped,  was  a  wonder. 

He  led  me  round  through  the  fields  and  over  ditches,  for 
there  were  five  huge  live  oaks  down  on  the  avenue,  some 
directly  across.  When  I  reached  the  barn-yard  I  jumped 
down  and  turned  Ruth  loose  with  the  saddle  and  bridle  on 
her,  as  I  can  always  catch  her  and  I  wanted  to  walk  over 
the  whole  scene  of  destruction  with  Bonaparte.  Every  fence 
was  down  and  the  sheep,  hogs,  cows,  and  horses  were  eating 
up  the  corn,  peas,  and  potatoes  over  which  we  had  labored 
so.  We  went  on  to  the  cotton-field  which  I  had  seen  on 
Saturday  white  with  a  splendid  growth  of  cotton.  I  planted 
a  long  staple  cotton  which  grew  as  tall  as  I  am  and  branched 
so  well  that  Jim  could  not  give  it  the  last  plowing  it  should 
have  had,  because  the  branches  met  in  the  rows.  I  had  it 
picked  twice  when  some  bolls  were  out,  but  I  was  advised 
to  wait  until  the  whole  field  was  out,  as  the  hands  picked 
more  and  the  cotton  was  better  quality ;  so  I  waited  and  the 
picking  was  to  have  begun  yesterday.  Saturday  it  looked 
like  a  field  of  snow.  Now  there  was  no  vestige  of  white, 
the  stalks  all  lay  prostrate,  and  the  cotton  beaten  into  the 
earth.  It  is  a  terrible  blow,  as  I  had  counted  on  this  for  my 
money  crop. 

Before  catching  Ruth  I  went  to  the  dairy,  skimmed  the 
cream,  and  put  it  into  a  preserve  jar  and  determined  to  try 
to  take  it  with  me.  Hearing  me  lament  over  my  inability 
to  take  the  milk  with  me  too,  for  I  have  been  sending  milk 
regularly  to  several  friends  in  the  village  who  had  none,  and 
I  knew  they  would  miss  it,  Rab  said,  "I  most  think  I  kin 
carry  de  milk." 

"No,  Rab,"  I  said,  "not  four  quart  bottles.  If  we  had 
it  in  a  demijohn  I  could  put  it  in  a  sack  and  you  could 
take  it  on  your  shoulder,  but  not  four  bottles,  they  would 
break." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  397 

"Le'  me  try,  Miss  Pashuns,  I  kno'  I  kin  do  um." 

Of  course  I  was  delighted  to  let  Rab  try,  for  if  he  failed, 
it  would  be  only  the  loss  of  the  milk. 

There  was  no  horse  feed  at  the  pineland,  so  I  told  Bona- 
parte to  put  half  a  bushel  of  corn  in  a  sack  with  the  cream 
jar  and  a  small  quantity  in  one  end  and  the  rest  of  the  corn 
in  the  other  end  to  balance,  I  threw  it  across  the  back  of  my 
horse  and  tied  it  securely  to  the  saddle  and  we  started.  I 
heard  Rab  say,  "Root,  yu  try  for  roll  but  yu  couldn't 
mek  um,"  and  I  saw  that  one  side  of  the  saddle  and  bridle 
was  muddy.  Fortunately  she  had  tried  to  roll  on  the  right 
side,  so  the  pommels  were  not  broken.  Our  homeward  journey 
seemed  to  me  worse  than  the  morning's.  Perhaps  I  was  only 
tired  and  discouraged  at  the  wide-spread  destruction ;  but 
we  struck  a  denser  growth  and  did  not  find  the  ridge  we  had 
followed  in  the  morning.  Then  we  had  gone  round  the  two 
swamps  in  a  wonderful  way,  now  we  had  to  cross  both,  and 
the  fear  of  getting  caught  in  those  woods  by  the  night  made 
it  worse ;  however,  just  as  the  dusk  was  falling  we  struck 
into  the  road  near  the  village  about  300  yards  from  the  point 
at  which  we  had  left  it  in  the  morning,  and  now  I  was  able 
to  trust  Ruth  to  pick  her  way  round  and  over  the  trees  as 
we  had  come  that  way  in  the  morning. 

As  I  rode  up  to  the  house  my  heart  was  gladdened  by  the 
sight  of  R.  running  down  the  steps  to  meet  me.  It  was 
such  a  relief  that  I  nearly  fainted  and  he  had  to  lift  me  down 
from  my  horse.  He  had  left  Gregory  with  Jim  at  7  o'clock 
this  morning  in  the  buckboard  much  against  every  one's 
advice.  But  he  thought  by  taking  axes  to  cut  the  trees  out 
of  the  road  there  would  be  no  difficulty.  They  cut,  and  cut, 
and  took  the  horse  from  the  buggy  which  they  lifted  over 
many,  many  trees ;  but  at  last  they  left  the  buckboard  in 
the  woods.  R.  led  Nan  and  Jim  took  the  big  umbrella 
(which  I  had  just  bought)  and  swung  the  two  valises  on  that 


398  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

over  his  shoulder  and  they  climbed  home,  having  just  reached 
the  house  when  I  came. 

R.  said  he  was  just  going  to  start  to  look  for  me,  he  was 
so  shocked  to  hear  that  I  had  gone  to  the  plantation.  It 
was  too  delightful  to  have  R.  with  me  safe  and  sound  and 
to  have  all  the  dangers  and  fatigues  of  the  day  past,  and 
to  know  that  for  the  next  two  weeks  I  need  not  cudgel  my 
poor  brain  as  to  what  should  be  done,  for  he  has  excellent 
judgment  and  will  direct  the  work  of  restoration  much  better 
than  I  could. 

Only  one  thing  I  must  do  myself,  I  must  go  to  Casa  Bianca 
and  see  the  destruction  there  and  hearten  Nat  up  a  bit ;  of 
course  all  chance  of  rice  crop  is  gone  there  as  well  as  at 
Cherokee. 

Rab  had.  the  happiness  of  carrying  around  the  milk  which 
he  had  so  successfully  brought  out  and  telling  of  the  dangers 
of  our  trip  and  of  his  powers ;  and  he  was  greatly  praised 
and  complimented  on  his  feat. 

Chloe  had  a  delicious  supper  for  us  which  we  certainly 
enjoyed,  for  neither  of  us  had  tasted  anything  since  morning. 

September  20. 

Drove  down  to  Casa  Bianca  to  find  a  scene  of  great  deso- 
lation in  the  Negro  street  or  quarters. 

Three  houses  have  been  blown  down  but  no  one  was  hurt, 
not  even  any  animal  injured.  The  barn  is  also  down  and 
the  trees  around  the  house  badly  torn,  but  the  dear  old  house 
is  not  hurt  in  the  least,  which  is  a  perfect  wonder.  I  love 
every  old  board  and  shingle  in  that  house  and  I  expected 
to  see  it  knocked  fiat,  with  all  my  dear  old  furniture  crushed, 
but  positively  there  was  not  a  pane  of  glass  broken  or  a 
shingle  off,  and  the  great  Olea  fragrans  which  grows  as  tall 
as  the  roof  was  in  full  bloom,  not  a  branch  broken,  making 
the  air  painfully  sweet.     It  made  me  very  happy  and  then 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  399 

the  childlike  faith  of  the  nigs  has  a  soothing,  cheering  effect. 
When  I  asked  Nat  about  the  rice,  he  pointed  to  the  place 
where  the  rice-fields  should  be,  which  looked  like  a  great 
lake,  no  banks  being  visible.  "  All  gone,  Miss ;  me  en  Jonas 
jis  done  cut  de  rice  and  de  sto'm  come  en  carry  um  right  out 
to  sea." 

When  I  condoled  with  him  he  answered  joyfully,  "Miss, 
I  too  tenkful  I  see  de  sun  myself,  en  me  chillun,  en  me  wife, 
fu'  fret  'bout  rice.     Ebrybody  stan'  same  fashun." 

That  is  the  great  consolation,  it  is  nothing  personal  and 
special,  every  one  shares  in  the  disaster,  and  to  them  it  makes 
it  easy  to  bear.     For  myself  it  does 

not  help  me,  it  only  makes  it  wK?j  .-i-i        .k 

harder,    the    loss   is   so    wide-         I   H%\'  ,  "fk::       My 

spread  and  complete.  I  fear        ,->■•.   ^   !,|KL§    >    i ■  ft  J     !   H 
the  storm  drops  a  dramatic,    *' '  ''y*.J        |  '  ^  /j/.' 

I  may  say  tragic,  curtain  on      ,  ■;?  ■:■•-  l„ ,_^j,-   -j  ;^^^i+'::?L 
my  career  as  a  rice  planter.     ;     -^^a53^fe^^Sl;3^^i^-^  - 

Cherokee,  September  23.      , r-s^s^^^^jjjg^ 

I  did  not  go  to  Peaceville     m.  TTT"!     i*~i"i"-i 

The  rice-fields  looked  like  a  great 

to  church  this  morning,  C.  ia]^e 

having  written  me  that  the 

dean  would  hold  service  at  St.  Peter's-in-the- Woods  at  four, 
that  he  would  drive  him  there  and  that  they  would  come 
back  with  me  and  spend  the  night.  So  I  prepared  a  nice 
dinner  of  wild  cluck  and  broiled  chicken  for  them  and  took 
my  own  frugal  little  lunch  at  2  o'clock  and  drove  out  to  the 
church. 

The  day  was  very  hot  but  beautiful.  Jim  did  not  go  to 
town  last  evening,  but  stayed  to  drive  me  out  in  wagon  with 
Ruth  and  Marietta.  I  always  enjoy  driving  behind  this  pair 
of  mother  and  daughter.  Marietta  dances  along  gayly  and 
Ruth  tries  her  very  best  not  to  let  her  daughter  outdo  her. 


400  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

The  little  church  was  crowded  with  the  simple,  pathetic 
congregation.  Louise  Moore  looked  sweet  in  her  black 
dress,  her  face  so  sad,  for  it  is  just  two  months  since  she  lost 
her  beautiful  seven-year-old  boy.  She  held  up  with  pride 
her  new  baby,  which  she  tightly  clasped  in  her  arms.  So  it 
is  with  them  always:  "Le  roi  est  mort ;  vive  le  roi."  But 
I  know  this  new  baby  can  never  be  as  clever  and  good  a  child 
as  the  little  Charley  was. 

The  dean  read  the  gospel  for  the  day,  the  fifteenth  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  beginning  "No  man  can  serve  two  masters." 
He  shut  the  book  and  spoke  quietly  and  beautifully  on  what 
makes  a  Christian.  Is  it  baptism  ?  No.  Going  to  church  ? 
No.  And  so  on,  and  then  he  explained  what  it  was ;  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  left  by  the  Saviour ;  to  be  kind,  gentle, 
thoughtful  to  others,  helpful  in  word  and  deed,  unselfish, 
self-denying,  and  to  be  guided  by  counsel  from  above,  asked 
for  daily,  hourly,  in  what  we  call  prayer.  Then  he  explained 
how  one  can  pray  in  the  midst  of  work  and  turmoil ;  the  heart 
needs  no  ceremony  to  ask  the  help  of  the  Heavenly  Father. 
There  are  no  doorkeepers  or  guards  at  the  gates.  There  the 
humblest  kind  of  prayer,  the  silent  aspiration,  "Lord,  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  goes  straight,  unimpeded,  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  Then  he  dwelt  on  God's  special  care  for 
each  of  His  children  and  His  knowledge  of  their  weaknesses 
and  temptations  and  needs. 

It  was  a  joy  to  me  to  see  Solomon's  great  round  eyes  fixed 
eagerly  on  the  speaker,  looking  for  something  which  his 
simple  mind  could  grasp  and  hold.  He  was  asking  bread, 
and  I  was  so  thankful  that  he  was  not  getting  a  stone.  Col. 
Ben  fixed  his  wistful  eyes  with  their  long  lashes,  the  only 
spark  of  beauty  about  his  very  freckled  face,  on  the  preacher 
and  never  seemed  even  to  wink.  A  very  stout  man  in  his 
shirt  sleeves  whom  I  did  not  recognize  as  one  of  the  regular 
congregation  (the  men  are  all  so  thin  and  tall),  looked  as 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  401 

though  he  was  forced  to  listen  and  understand  against  his 
will. 

C.  and  the  dean  were  not  able  to  come  home  with  me  to 
spend  the  night,  to  my  great  regret.  They  found  at  the 
last  moment  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  return  to  Gregory 

this  evening. 

Monday. 

I  sat  and  sewed,   not  feeling  up  to  much  exertion.     I 

finished  the  gray  muslin  frock  and   it  is  sweet.     Then   I 

darned  stockings.     If  anything  can  make  you  more  conceited 

than  darning  stockings  I  don't  know  what  it  is  unless  it  be 

early  rising.     I  think  if  by  great  and  sustained  effort  I  ever 

became   an   early   riser   I   would   become   insufferable.     All 

my  life  that  has  been  my  greatest  ambition,  but  I  never 

succeed  in  rising  early  for  more  than  a  few  weeks  at  a  time 

under  pressure. 

September  25. 

Danton  was  to  be  married  this  evening  and  specially 
invited  Chloe,  and  I  saw  she  wanted  to  go,  so  I  told  her  she 
must  go,  that  it  was  only  due  Danton,  as  a  refused  suitor 
for  her  hand,  that  she  should  attend  the  wedding.  She  said 
she  did  think  it  would  be  a  "good  polish"  on  her  part  to 
be  present,  but  that  she  could  not  bear  to  leave  me  alone 
from  early  in  the  afternoon  until  late  at  night.     She  said  :  — 

"Dem  say  de  weddin'  gwine  be  at  fo',  but  nigga  fo'  mean 
buckra  seven  !     Dem  neber  will  reddy  by  fo'." 

However,  I  insisted  and  persisted  until  she  went.  I  kept 
Patty  Ann  as  long  as  I  could  by  going  to  the  barn-yard  to 
measure  the  peas  and  telling  her  she  must  take  charge  of 
the  house  and  yard  until  I  got  back.  There  were  about 
twenty  hands.  Some  wanted  to  pick  for  one-third  of  the 
peas,  some  for  money.  It  is  very  hard  to  divide  peas  evenly. 
I  find  the  easiest  way  is  to  weigh  the  peas  and  then  divide 
the  weight.  It  really  takes  less  time  than  any  other  way, 
2d 


402  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

for  it  is  accurate  and  I  can  get  through  weighing  and  dividing 
up  1500  pounds  of  peas  among  twenty  hands  in  no  time. 

When  I  got  back  from  the  barn  I  had  to  let  Patty  Ann  go. 
Then  I  went  to  see  after  Pocahontas,  my  beautiful  young 
cow,  who  is  ill.  I  gave  her  a  dose  of  aconite  to-day  and  had 
Jim  rub  her  with  liniment.  She  is  strangely  affected ;  her 
fore  legs  seem  almost  paralyzed  and  cross  each  other  when 
she  walks,  or  rather  steps,  for  she  is  afraid  to  walk  more 
than  a  dozen  steps  at  a  time ;   then  down  she  goes. 

Her  countenance  is  bright,  however,  which  makes  me  hope- 
ful. It  would  be  a  dreadful  blow  to  lose  her.  R.  L.  A.,  who 
knows  about  cows,  told  me  not  to  take  less  than  $65  for  her 
in  the  spring  before  she  had  her  first  calf.  The  calf  is  so  fine 
I  have  named  her  Beauty. 

I  gave  Pocahontas  a  large  bundle  of  fresh  cut  grass  and 
a  bucket  of  water,  for  Jim  has  gone  to  the  wedding  too. 
To  my  delight  when  I  put  the  grass  down  a  little  beyond  her 
reach,  giving  her  only  one  handful  to  taste,  she  got  up  with 
great  difficulty,  resting  some  time  on  her  knees,  swaying  so 
that  I  thought  she  must  keel  over,  but  at  last  she  got  to 
her  feet  and  stood  trembling  for  a  little  before  she  could 
make  the  one  step  necessary  to  reach  the  grass.  It  seems  to 
me  she  has  had  a  severe  blow  on  her  left  shoulder  and  the  left 
leg  is  almost  paralyzed.     She  puts  all  her  weight  on  the  right. 

When  I  had  got  through  my  ministrations  to  her  and  came 
out  of  the  stable  and  started  toward  the  house  I  was  scared 
almost  out  of  my  wits  by  a  tall  man  standing  at  the  gate. 
It  took  all  my  courage  to  force  myself  forward  instead  of 
retreating  rapidly  to  the  shelter  of  Pocahontas's  stable. 
However,  I  went  forward  with  a  bold  air  to  find  a  variation 
of  Don  Quixote's  windmill.  I  had  been  picking  up  walnuts 
as  my  first  amusement  and  got  so  warm  that  I  took  off  my 
white  flannel  coat  and  hung  it  on  a  tall  post  near  the  gate  as 
I  went  out  to  see  after  the  cow,  and  had  entirely  forgotten  it. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  403 

I  laughed  at  myself,  but  feebly,  for  I  have  not  had  such  a 
fright  for  a  long  time.  There  is  no  human  being  within  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  me,  and  I  have  had  trouble  with  a  very 
bad  man  whose  hog  was  in  my  corn  and  peas,  for  a  week  be- 
fore we  found  it  out.  I  had  Jim  catch  it  and  shut  it  up  and 
send  word  to  the  man  that  he  must  pay  me  $2  before  he 
could  get  it.  That  was  not  nearly  the  value  of  what  he  had 
destroyed,  but  I  thought  it  was  all  I  could  ask.  He  sent 
word  he  would  not  pay  it,  that  I  could  keep  the  hog  and  send 
him  a  dollar.  It  is  a  complete  razor  back  and  I  don't  want 
it,  but  Jim  seemed  to  think  he  would  like  it  and  told  me  he 
would  pay  the  dollar  and  take  the  hog. 

I  said,  "Then  where  is  my  pay  for  the  damage  to  the  crop  ?  " 
It  seemed  very  hard  for  him  to  see  the  justice  of  this. 

In  the  meantime  I  am  feeding  the  creature  on  my  precious 
corn  and  the  owner  is  very  angry. 

I  put  up  the  walnuts  I  had  picked,  four  dozen.  The  squir- 
rels steal  them  as  well  as  people,  so  they  have  to  be  put  in  a 
close  place  to  keep  them. 

When  I  went  out  first  the  sunset  was  wonderful.  Exqui- 
site rose-colored  clouds,  layers  upon  layers  of  them,  filled  the 
heavens  and  the  pure,  cold  crescent  moon  emerged  from  their 
billowy  depths  with  its  bow  of  hope.  I  stood  and  watched 
with  much  delight  until,  oh,  sadness !  the  rose-colored 
clouds  turned  to  ashes  of  roses  and  I  felt  with  a  pang  that 
night  was  near. 

When  I  came  into  the  house  at  last  it  was  quite  dark  and 
I  had  forgotten  to  put  the  matches  on  the  table  near  the  door, 
so  I  had  rather  an  eventful  progress,  falling  over  chairs  and 
stools  to  find  them.  I  do  not  like  the  dark  and  cannot  walk 
straight  in  it.  At  last,  however,  I  got  the  matches  and  lighted 
the  lamp  and  took  my  tea,  which  had  been  made  early  but 
kept  hot  under  a  cosey. 

After  getting  through  to  my  surprise  I  found  myself  ner- 


404  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

vous.  I  do  hope  my  nerve  is  not  going  to  fail  me.  It  is 
the  first  time  I  have  been  quite  alone  in  the  house  and  yard 
without  MacDuff,  my  stanch  little  watch-dog,  and  it  makes 
a  great  difference.  He  used  to  sit  right  by  me  and  follow 
my  every  motion,  and  when  he  barked  it  meant  something. 
Don  barks  because  he  is  chained  and  Prince  barks  because 
he  is  afraid  of  the  young  moonlight,  it  is  so  mysterious. 
Their  continual  barking  worries  me,  for  Chloe  left  both 
chicken  coops  unlocked  and  I  cannot  discriminate  between 
the  bark  that  means  something  and  the  other. 

I  tried  to  read  but  did  not  succeed,  so  I  took  to  the  piano 
and  worked  hard  at  Chopin's  etudes.  The  ''Revolutionary" 
etude  requires  plenty  of  work  and  effort  and  concentration. 
Now  it  is  10  o'clock  and  I  had  to  stop  for  very  weariness  and 
am  writing. 

After  going  out  into  the  yard  several  times  to  see  if  Prince 
was  barking  at  any  reality,  I  brought  him  into  the  pantry, 
and  in  order  to  compose  his  nerves  I  left  the  "Revolution- 
ary" etude,  which  is  so  tempestuous,  and  played  the  next, 
which  is  almost  a  lullaby,  so  soft  and  soothing  is  it,  and  to 
my  relief  it  had  its  effect,  and  Prince  went  to  sleep. 

Just  now  I  heard  Don  give  a  real  bark  and  went  out  to 
find  the  party  had  returned,  Chloe  in  high  glee.  I  had  sent 
by  her  to  Danton  as  a  wedding  present,  a  white  waistcoat. 
The  buttons  had  been  taken  out  when  it  was  washed  and  had 
not  been  put  back,  and  when  I  thought  of  the  waistcoat  as 
a  present,  Chloe  was  all  ready  and  I  could  not  put  the  but- 
tons in,  so  I  wrapped  them  up  and  put  them  in  the  pocket, 
wrapped  the  waistcoat  in  a  paper,  with  my  good  wishes  on 
the  paper,  and  gave  it  to  Chloe. 

She  told  me  that  they  met  the  bridegrocm  on  his  way 
to  the  wedding  with  his  four  attendants  and  she  delivered 
the  package.  Danton  opened  it,  expressed  great  delight, 
took  off  his  coat  and  put  on  the  waistcoat,  and  the  groomsmen 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  405 

all  assisted  in  putting  in  the  buttons  with  the  string  which 
tied  the  parcel,  and  the  bridegroom  was  resplendent  and  the 
four  groomsmen  were  loud  in  applause.  He  folded  the  paper 
up  and  put  it  carefully  in  his  pocket  and  said,  "I  gwine  to 
keep  Miss  Pashuns's  good  will  she  write  on  dis  paper." 

Chloe  says  the  wine  flowed  freely  and  the  large  company 
all  had  some,  and  the  six  cakes  were  not  all  consumed.  She 
is  telling  me  every  detail  of  the  gayety.  Jim  had  the  duty 
of  handing  round  the  wine,  which  Chloe  privately  told  me 
was  very  sour.  But  it  was  a  "high  class"  affair,  not  so  much 
as  a  "cuss  word,"  all  pleasant  and  polite. 

I  am  writing  while  she  narrates,  which  will  account  for 
incoherence.  She  stands  with  her  hand  on  the  knob  of  the 
door  and  every  now  and  then  my  hopes  rise  as  she  opens  the 
door,  but  at  once  some  new  detail  comes  to  her  mind  and  the 
door  closes,  the  lantern  is  put  down,  and  the  wonderful  witti- 
cisms recommence. 

The  bride  wore  yellow  satin  with  two  skirts,  a  long  veil 
put  on  with  a  wreath  of  white  flowers  and  looked  "truly 
han'som,  en  I  neber  bin  to  a  freer  weddin',  Miss  Pashuns, 
dan  dis.  Of  coa's  de  cake  was  to  dem  tas'e,  not  to  yo'ne, 
but  dem  had  a  plenty  o'  dem,  sum  lef." 

At  last  Chloe  has  said  good  night.     I'm  going  to  bed  to 

dream  of  the  wedding. 

September  26. 

Nice  letters  by  mail  to-day,  but  I  am  so  down  and  miser- 
able in  spirits,  that  I  do  not  know  what  will  be  the  result. 
I  feel  ill  just  from  despair.  There  seems  no  outlook  any- 
where —  no  hope.  I  feel  ashamed  of  myself,  for  there  are 
so  many  so  mi.ch  worse  off.     God  forgive  me. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

September  28. 

f  |^0- DAY'S  mail  brought  me  a  most  agitating  letter  from 
'  dear  C.  She  wrote  from  the  hospital,  where  she  was 
to  be  operated  upon  for  appendicitis  that  day.  She 
begged  me  if  possible  to  go  at  once  and  take  charge  of  her 
household  and  three  little  boys  until  her  return.  It  seems 
almost  impossible  to  leave  just  now  —  but  I  have  determined 
to  drop  everything  and  go.  I  feel  very  anxious,  for  her  letter 
took  a  long  time  to  reach  me. 

Unita,  September  30. 

Left  Peaceville  yesterday  at  3  p.m.  and  reached  this  flour- 
ishing town  at  12  to-day.  The  boys  are  splendid  fellows, 
aged  eight,  seven,  and  four  years,  full  of  life  and  fun  and  chat- 
ter ;   it  is  a  great  contrast  to  the  silent  home  I  left. 

On  the  journey  up  I  had  two  hours  in  Columbia,  which 
I  spent  with  B.  I  was  very  pleased  to  find  that  W.,  her 
ten-year-old  son,  had  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  great 
shock  he  had  when  I  was  there  in  June. 

All  the  children  were  at  a  large  picnic  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  city  in  a  very  pretty  spot  with  a  stream  running  through 
which  opened  out  into  a  small  lake  in  one  spot.  There  W. 
was  playing  with  a  comrade  of  his  own  age,  to  whom  he  was 
devoted.  They  were  wading  in  what  seemed  a  sheet  of 
shallow  water  and  were  throwing  up  a  lemon  as  a  ball,  each 
trying  to  catch  it. 

Suddenly  as  the  friend  leaped  to  catch  the  ball  he  sank 
from  sight  in  unsuspected  deep  water.  W.  saw  him  rise 
and  sprang  after  in  an  involuntary  impulse  to  save  him.     He 

406 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  407 

too  disappeared.  Both  rose,  then  sank  again,  W.'s  second 
sinking  being  the  friend's  third,  his  arms  being  clasped  around 
W.'s  waist. 

About  300  yards  away  a  young  matron  who  had  brought 
her  four  children  to  the  picnic,  one  being  quite  a  baby  still, 
heard  the  cry  and  started  toward  the  pool  at  a  run.  She 
reached  the  water  as  W.  rose  for  the  third  time.  Though 
panting  from  the  run  she  sprang  in  where  she  saw  him  sink, 
and  after  what  seemed  to  the  onlookers  an  age  she  appeared 
holding  W.  by  the  collar,  and  slowly  and  painfully  dragged 
him  to  the  shallow  water.  A  lady  seeing  she  was  nearly 
spent,  waded  in  waist  deep  and  helped  her  bring  him  to  the 
shore,  and  said  :  — 

"Come  out,  you  are  exhausted." 

"No,  no!"  Mrs.  M.  answered.  "There  is  another,  I 
must  go  back  for  him,"  and  she  turned  again  to  the  deep 
water. 

But  every  one  saw  that  she  could  not  possibly  go  down 
again,  and  she  was  pulled  gently  to  the  shore  and  placed  in 
an  automobile  and  taken  home. 

It  was  a  most  heroic  action  for  that  frail  young  woman, 
exhausted  from  the  run,  to  plunge  in  with  clothes  and  shoes 
on.  I  asked  B.  to  take  me  to  call  on  her  and  that  visit  will 
always  remain  in  my  memory  as  a  beautiful  picture.  She 
was  sitting  on  the  vine-covered  porch  at  her  sewing-machine, 
while  the  children  played  around.  She  did  not  wish  to 
speak  of  the  tragedy  and  talked  of  lighter  things. 

She  told  us  she  had  grown  up  on  a  plantation  near  Beau- 
fort, and  she  had  only  consented  to  come  to  the  city  on  con- 
dition that  her  home  should  be  on  the  outskirts,  where  she 
could  have  large  grounds  with  flower  and  vegetable  garden 
and  keep  a  cow,  a  small  farm  in  fact,  and  her  present  home 
gave  her  all  the  country  occupations  and  pleasures,  while 
her  children  could  reach  the  city  schools  easily.     I  had  gone 


408  A    WOMAN    RICE  PLANTER 

for  the  purpose  of  expressing  my  gratitude  and  admiration 
for  her  presence  of  mind  and  heroism,  so  before  we  left  I 
spoke  of  the  tragedy.  Her  lovely  face  went  white  at  once, 
and  she  said  :  — 

"Oh,  but  the  other  boy  !  If  only  I  could  have  got  him 
too  !     I  think  of  that  other  mother  always." 

My  very  heart  was  stirred  by  the  heroism  of  the  whole 
thing,  and  the  mercy  of  the  rescue  of  my  dear  great-nephew 
and  the  terrible  tragedy  of  his  companions'  death.  Alto- 
gether my  admiration  and  reverence  was  excited  for  all  the 
actors  in  the  drama,  Mrs.  M.,  and  my  great-nephew,  who 
had  tried  to  save  his  comrade,  but  Mrs.  M.  above  all; — ■ 
just  a  flash  of  tragedy,  heroism,  and  nobility  out  of  the 
clear  sky,  when  often  life  looks  so  commonplace. 

October  4. 

It  is  a  wonder  to  me  how  I  can  cast  away  all  thought  of 
things  at  home  so  completely,  specially  the  pea-vine  hay,  which 
had  become  a  kind  of  fetish  with  me,  but  truth  to  say,  my 
time  and  thoughts  are  so  fully  occupied  that  I  have  no  chance 
to  dwell  on  an}rthing  outside  of  these  four  walls.  It  is  time 
for  the  incubator  to  hatch  and  I  find  myself  in  spite  of  ac- 
tive occupations  wondering  as  to  how  Chloe  and  Patty  are 
getting  on.  Neither  of  them  seemed  able  to  make  out  the 
thermometer,  so  that  my  kind  friend  Mrs.  S.  had  promised 
to  go  in  once  a  day  and  look  at  it.  It  will  be  a  wonder  if 
any  chickens  hatch  under  the  circumstances. 

This  is  a  lovely  place,  a  charmingly  comfortable  house 
and  so  surrounded  by  trees  that  I  can  forget  I  am  in  a  city 
and  only  feel  the  comfort  of  having  the  butcher  and  baker 
and  every  one  else  you  want,  call  at  your  door.  I  certainly 
can  appreciate  that  part  of  city  life. 

"Seven"  and  "Eight"  go  to  school  and  the  excitement 
of  getting  them  off  in  the  morning  is  intense.     They  have  a 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  409 

long  walk,  entirely  across  the  town,  and  there  are  many 
snares  and  pitfalls  in  the  shape  of  circus  pictures  on  the  way, 
so  that  it  is  necessary  to  give  them  ample  time  to  get  there 
before  the  bell  rings. 

"Four"  stays  at  home  and  is  my  constant  companion. 
If  he  were  not  a  fascinating  child  it  would  be  very  trying, 
but  besides  being  strong,  healthy,  and  handsome  he  is  per- 
fectly obedient  and  very  original.  I  was  sitting  on  the  porch 
sewing  and  he  was  playing  with  my  trunk  strap,  greatly  to 
the  injury  of  the  strap,  twisting  it  around  a  tree.  I  told 
him  to  stop,  which  he  did  at  once,  and  with  the  greatest  agil- 
ity, to  use  his  own  word,  he  "skinned"  up  the  tree.  He  went 
up  until  he  was  on  a  level  with  the  second  story  windows 
and  then  began  to  discourse. 

"Aunt  Patience,  did  you  see  how  quick  I  minded  you, 
an'  stopped  doing  what  you  tol'  me  not  to  do?" 

"Yes,"  I  answered,  "and  I  was  greatly  pleased." 

"Well,"  he  went  on,  "I  did  that  because  if  you  do  what 
grown-up  people  tell  you  not  to  do,  God  don't  like  it,  an' 
he'll  surely  make  you  stump  your  toe." 

I  could  not  help  laughing,  it  was  so  funnj'-,  his  little  bare 
feet  are  so  battered  and  bruised  by  stones  and  roots ;  but  he 
got  very  angry,  and  let  go  his  hold  on  the  limb  on  which  he 
sat,  to  gesticulate  fiercely  as  he  went  on. 

"That  ain't  nothin'  to  laugh  at,  its  puffectly  true  !  An' 
if  you're  a  grown  man  an'  won't  mind  Him  an'  do  wrong,  He 
might  make  you  break  your  neck,  but  if  you're  a  boy, 
he'll  only  jes'  make  you  stump  your  toe." 

I  was  so  afraid  that  in  the  earnestness  of  his  gesticulations 
he  would  fall  from  the  high  limb  that  I  became  solemn  at 
once  and  said  how  pleased  I  was  that  he  was  so  wise  and 
realized  that  evil  doing  always  brought  its  own  punishment. 
At  the  same  time  I  begged  him  to  hold  on,  as  it  was  neces- 
sary to  take  proper  precautions  not  to  get  hurt  as  well  as 


410  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

to  do  what  was  right.  As  "Seven"  fell  from  that  same 
limb  and  split  his  tongue  two  days  before  I  arrived,  I  was 
truly  thankful  when  the  little  preacher  got  down  safe  and 
sound. 

The  last  time  the  boys  stayed  with  me  at  Cherokee  Chloe 
nicknamed  them  the  doctor,  the  lawyer,  and  the  preacher, 
and  the  names  seem  to  suit.  I  was  walking  with  "Eight," 
the  doctor,  yesterday  afternoon  and  as  we  flew  along,  for  I 
walk  fast,  he  threw  his  arms  out  and  exclaimed  :  — ■ 

"Oh,  I  just  wish  I  had  all  the  money  in  the  world." 

I  was  quite  shocked.  "Oh,  my  dear  boy,  what  makes 
you  wish  for  money?     You  have  everything  you  want." 

He  answered:  "Didn't  you  see  that  poor  old  daddy,  all 
ragged  and  dirty  ?  He  has  an  awful  foot,  I  saw  it,  and  I 
gave  him  a  dime  the  other  day,  but  if  I  had  all  the  money, 
I'd  load  up  my  pockets  with  big  bills  and  as  I  went  along  the 
streets  and  I  saw  him,  I'd  just  slip  a  fifty-dollar  bill  out  of 
my  pocket  and  into  his  hand  and  say,  'Shut  your  hand  quick, 
old  uncle,  here's  fifty  dollars ;  go  get  your  leg  cured  and 
buy  all  you  want.'  And  then  I'd  run  on  quick  before  he 
knew  who  it  was.  And  you  see  that  poor,  thin,  pale-faced 
little  girl  coming  out  of  the  factory  ?  I'd  do  the  same  to  her, 
and  walking  just  as  fast  as  we  are  now  I'd  just  give  everybody 
that  looked  needing  it,  a  good  big  bill  !  Now  wouldn't  that 
be  jolly  ?     And  wouldn't  I  be  happy  !" 

I  told  him  if  he  ever  wanted  to  do  that  he  would  have  to 
work  hard  at  his  arithmetic,  over  which  he  has  so  much 
trouble,  for  there  was  no  chance  of  ever  making  headway  in 
the  world  without  conquering  that  —  which  seemed  to  put 
arithmetic  in  a  new  light  to  him. 

But  I  really  was  very  pleased  to  see  in  the  boy  that  love  of 
humanity  which  made  him  wish  to  relieve  suffering,  though 
only  in  imagination,  instead  of  dreaming  of  autos  and  other 
grandeurs  for  himself.     "II  chasse  de  race."     But  we  cer- 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  411 

tainly  understand  spending  money  better  than  we  do  making 

it,  which  is  a  pity  and   made  me  point  out  to  him  that 

money  had  to  be  made  before  it  could  be  given  away,  and 

that  money  was  made  by  arithmetic,   so  to  speak,  rather 

than  by  dreaming. 

October  20. 

I  have  got  on  beautifully  with  the  boys  and  am  so  happy  to 
know  them  well.  I  have  had  many  trials  of  strength  with 
them,  but  I  never  give  in.  The  "  doctor  "  came  in  from  school 
the  other  day  and  threw  his  arms  around  me  and  said :  — 

"You  are  just  the  sweetest  aunt  in  the  world  !" 

I  said,  "What  does  this  mean?"  laughingly,  for  we  had 
had  a  mighty  tussle  that  morning  over  his  arithmetic. 

He  went  on  as  if  not  hearing  me:  "I  just  get  praised  in 
school  all  the  time,  since  you  have  been  here." 

I  thought  it  was  the  most  magnanimous  thing,  for  I  had 
been  very  severe  on  him  in  the  battle  over  the  arithmetic. 
I  really  think  the  mental  arithmetic  is  quite  too  hard  for  a 
boy  of  eight,  it  requires  such  an  effort  and  so  much  concen- 
tration ;  but  as  the  lesson  is  given  him,  he  must  put  his  mind 
on  it  and  learn  it. 

The  analysis  is  more  puzzling  than  the  questions  them- 
selves, and  he  fights  it,  and  I  don't  wonder,  but  as  the  lesson 
is  given  it  is  his  duty  to  learn  it,  and  I  make  him  shut  his 
eyes  and  concentrate  his  mind  ;  and  I  thought  it  was  wonder- 
ful that  having  felt  the  good  result  in  praise  he  should  wish 
to  pass  it  on  to  me.  Oh,  the  joy  of  having  first  class  material 
to  work  upon  ! 

Cherokee,  November  10. 

A  perfectly  exquisite  day.  I  reached  Gregory  last  night 
and  spent  the  night  by  invitation  at  Woodstock.  I  had 
written  for  Gibbie  to  meet  me  there  at  noon,  and  he  arrived 
punctually.  I  rested  the  horses  about  half  an  hour  and  then 
started  back.     The  horses  looked  jaded  and  I  let  them  walk, 


412  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

as  it  was  intense  enjoyment  to  feel  the  soft  balmy  air  on  my 
cheeks  and  to  study  the  variety  of  lovely  wild  flowers  which 
autumn  brings,  as  we  went  through  the  pine  woods,  following 
the  rough  and  winding  short  cut  to  the  ferry. 

I  asked  Gibbie  questions,  to  which  he  gave  the  most  pro- 
longed and  elaborate  answers.  I  am  sure  he  had  composed 
and  arranged  them  all  as  he  drove  down.  He  told  me  every 
item  of  home  news  ;  everything  rose  color ;  potatoes  dug  and 
very  fine,  "about  free  hundred  bushil."  "Great  crop  of 
hay,"  he  having  saved  it  all.  More  peas  than  I  "could 
'stroy."  He  spoke  of  Bonaparte  altogether  as  "the  Cap'en," 
which  showed  me  they  were  on  good  terms,  a  most  unusual 
thing.  All  the  cows  in  fine  condition,  he  reported,  but  when  I 
asked  about  Heart,  the  Guernsey  heifer  I  was  so  anxious  to 
raise,  he  said  a  sad  accident  happened  and  she  was  dead. 

After  we  crossed  the  ferry  the  horses  looked  so  down- 
hearted that  I  asked  if  Ruth  had  had  any  holiday.  No,  he 
said,  Ruth  had  been  driven  every  day;  but  Romola  had 
done  nothing  since  I  left  home. 

"What,"  I  said,  "not  been  in  harness  since  September  20  ?" 

"No,  ma'am,  just  been  out  in  de  fiel'  de  eat  grass." 

"Mercy  on  us,"  I  cried,  "and  you  brought  her  on  this 
twenty-six  mile  drive  to-day?" 

"Needn't  to  fret,  ma'am,  Uncle  Bonapa'te  feed  um  well, 
he  give  um  twenty-eight  year  o'  co'n  jes'  fo'  we  sta'at  dis 
mo'ning." 

I  began  at  once  to  feel  anxious  about  Romola  and  drove 
slower  and  slower.  She  would  turn  and  bite  at  her  side  from 
time  to  time  and  travelled  with  her  head  down.  Finally 
when  we  were  five  miles  from  home  she  threw  herself  vio- 
lently down.  Romola  is  such  a  good  creature ;  she  managed 
not  to  break  a  strap  of  the  harness,  nor  the  pole,  only  she 
nearly  toppled  Ruth  over,  but  by  falling  against  her  she 
saved  the  pole. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  413 

I  sprang  out  and  had  the  harness  taken  off  quickly  and  got 
her  up  and  led  her  out  of  the  road  into  a  grassy  place  in  the 
woods  just  in  time,  for  she  threw  herself  down  again,  rolling 
over  and  over  and  groaning  and  tossing  herself  about  —  a 
genuine  case  of  colic. 

First  I  told  Gibbie  to  run  home  and  bring  Nana  as  quickly 
as  he  could.  Then  I  considered  that  it  must  take  at  least 
two  hours,  even  if  he  ran,  which  I  knew  he  would  not  do,  and 
to  be  left  on  the  highway  alone,  the  buckboard  loaded  with 
my  possessions,  with  a  sick  horse,  would  be  a  trying  ordeal 
for  me  and  would  really  be  tempting  Providence  in  the  way  of 
tramps,  so  I  said  :  — 

"No,  don't  go  yet  a  while;  perhaps  some  one  will  come 
whom  I  can  send." 

In  about  half  an  hour  a  neighbor  passed  and  offered  to 
help  me,  so  I  asked  him  if  when  he  passed  Cherokee  he  would 
drive  in,  and  tell  Bonaparte  to  bring  Nana  in  the  old  buck- 
board  and  to  tell  Chloe  to  send  by  him  the  horse  physic  from 
behind  the  dogs  on  the  mantelpiece  in  the  dining-room.  He 
seemed  very  glad  to  do  it  and  I  felt  relieved,  knowing  I  would 
not  have  to  spend  the  night  on  the  road.  I  always  keep  a 
bottle  of  aconite  behind  a  very  beautiful  pair  of  bronze 
hounds  by  Isidore  Bonheur  and  Chloe  knows  just  where  to 
find  it,  for  I  have  kept  it  there  for  years. 

Romola  continued  in  great  distress.  I  had  a  bottle  of  al- 
mond oil  with  extract  of  violet  in  my  valise  which  I  fortu- 
nately thought  of.  I  got  it  out  and  told  Gibbie  to  rub  her, 
but  finding  that  he  didn't  seem  to  know  how  to  rub,  I  just 
took  it  myself  and  rubbed  her  well.  I  had  to  be  quick  in 
getting  out  of  the  way  when  she  flopped  over  or  I  would  have 
got  mashed ;  but  I  stood  behind  her  and,  leaning  over,  put 
my  whole  weight  on  my  hands. 

As  the  sun  was  dropping  below  the  horizon  in  the  west  she 
got  up  and  shook  herself.     I  led  her  about  a  little  and  felt 


414  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

sure  the  attack  was  over,  so  I  told  Gibbie  to  harness  and  put 
her  in.  He  had  been  kept  busy  by  Ruth,  who  as  feeding 
time  approached  was  eager  to  break  away  and  get  to  her 
stable.  We  moved  off  slowly,  and  in  half  a  mile  we  met 
Bonaparte  with  Nana  and  the  other  buckboard  and  he  took 
the  trunk.  I  gave  Romola  a  dose  of  aconite  and  she  plucked 
up  a  little  spirit ;  but  she  did  not  pull,  she  simply  walked 
beside  Ruth,  who  took  the  whole  load. 

It  was  after  dark  when  we  reached  the  house.  I  gave  her 
three  quarts  of  hot  water  with  soda  in  it  and  another  spoonful 
of  aconite.  I  was  truly  thankful  when  I  finally  dragged  my 
weary  limbs  up  the  front  steps  and  found  a  bright  fire,  nice 
supper,  Chloe,  Don,  and  home. 

Sunday,  November  11. 

My  blessed  mother's  birthday.  I  am  too  stiff  and  ill  to 
attempt  to  go  down  with  flowers  to  her  resting-place  as  I 
usually  do ;  a  great  disappointment.  Bonaparte  asked  for 
a  private  interview,  so  I  went  to  one  end  of  the  piazza,  though 
there  was  no  one  within  hearing.  He  told  me  after  a  long 
and  mysterious  preamble  that  he  was  engaged  to  be  married. 

I  was  distressed  when  I  heard  he  had  selected  a  compara- 
tively young  woman  from  Gregory.  When  I  expressed  my 
anxiety,  saying  a  woman  from  the  country  would  suit  him 
better,  he  said  that  when  I  saw  Jane  I  would  have  no  objec- 
tion to  make,  as  she  bore  a  fine  character  with  white  as  well 
as  black.  Of  course  I  can  do  nothing  now  but  give  him  my 
good  wishes. 

Two  or  three  months  ago  when  I  saw  his  restless,  miserable 
frame  of  mind,  I  knew  he  was  thinking  of  replacing  his  good, 
faithful  wife  and  I  tried  to  help  him.  After  a  careful  survey 
of  the  matrimonial  field,  I  concluded  that  good  little  Jinny 
would  be  the  best  person  for  him.  She  is  an  industrious, 
smart  woman,  who  had  been  a  faithful  wife  and  mother  and 
is  now  a  widow.     One  day  I  said  to  him  that  whenever  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  415 

time  came  that  he  felt  he  needed  a  companion  I  thought  Jinny 
Robinson  would  make  him  an  excellent  helpmate.  To  my 
surprise  he  answered  quickly,  "Jinny  too  old  for  me,  Miss 
Pashuns." 

She  is  twenty  years  younger  than  he  is.  My  mother  was 
always  appealed  to  for  advice  and  suggestion  by  those  left 
desolate,  and  I  never  knew  an  instance  when  her  selection 
was  rejected  or  the  match  turned  out  badly,  so  I  was  quite 
unprepared  for  this  rebuff. 

Jinny  lives  on  her  own  farm  and  all  her  children  are  mar- 
ried, so  that  she  would  have  suited  him  well. 

Nat  came  up  from  Casa  Bianca  to  tell  me  my  fine  yearling 
steer  Knox  was  dead.  He  was  perfectly  well  apparently 
when  Jim  went  down  there  last  week.  It  always  is  a  trial 
to  talk  to  a  negro  in  such  cases.  I  asked  of  course  what  ailed 
the  steer.     Nat  scratched  his  head  violently  and  answered  :  — 

"Miss,  7e  time  cum,  I  t'ink.  Wen  we  time  cum  we  'bleeged 
to  go.  De  black  steer  time  cum  en  I  cudn't  keep  um ;  en 
beside  dat  'e  had  de  hollow  tail." 

Of  course  I  retreated  from  the  effort  to  find  out  anything, 

but  I  told  him  he  must  bring  the  rest  of  the  cattle  up  here. 

The  pasture  being  very  fine  down  there,  I  leave  the  cows  there 

in  summer,  but  as  soon  as  the  corn-fields  are  open  here  I 

bring  them  back  where  I  can  look  after  them  during  the 

winter. 

Cherokee,  November  12. 

Great  activity  prevails  in  this  household ;  I  am  moved  to 
brush  up  my  dear  old  home  a  little,  so  I  have  bought  some 
kalsomine,  and  every  minute  which  can  be  spared  from  get- 
ting in  the  hay  Jim  is  kalsomining.  He  has  finished  the 
breakfast  room,  which  was  a  disgrace,  and  then  he  finished 
the  upstairs  hall,  and  is  now  engaged  on  the  lower  hall. 

The  dear  departed  peacock,  whose  mate  was  eaten  up  by 
a  fox  while  sitting  on  a  nest  of  beautiful  eggs,  lived  three 


416  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

years  in  a  state  of  single  misery,  during  which  time  he  broke 
every  pane  of  glass  in  the  windows  he  could  reach.  It  was 
so  pathetic  that  I  could  not  give  way  to  wrath  and  have  him 
beaten  away.  He  was  looking  for  that  lovely  mate,  with  her 
graceful  long  neck  and  dainty  small  head,  and  seemed  to 
think  she  was  imprisoned  in  the  house,  for  he  roamed  round 
and  round  it,  first  on  one  shed  and  then  on  another,  and  when, 
peering  in  through  the  window  glass,  he  caught  sight  of  his 
own  iridescent  form,  he  would  plunge  forward  in  an  ecstasy 
of  joy,  break  the  glass,  cut  his  poor,  proud  head  and  hastily 
fly  away,  only  to  begin  the  search  again  as  soon  as  his  wounds 
were  healed.  In  this  way  the  windows  were  broken  one  by 
one,  and  the  dirt  daubers  (a  very  busy  flying  thing  that  looks 
exactly  like  a  wasp,  but  does  not  sting)  came  in  and  made 
their  wonderful  clay  houses  in  the  halls,  so  that  it  looked  like 
some  old,  deserted,  haunted  place. 

It  was  impossible  to  get  all  the  glass  put  back.  The  hall 
window  has  a  pointed  arched  top  like  a  church  window,  and 
that  shape  of  glass  I  could  not  get,  so  I  just  felt  helpless 
and  hopeless  while  the  little  workers  in  clay  triumphed  over 
me.  When,  however,  the  hall  window  was  covered  with  fine 
bronze  wire  on  the  outside  from  top  to  bottom  these  little 
wonders  of  industry  and  perseverance  were  foiled. 

It  was  funny  to  watch  them  when  they  first  reached  the 
window  loaded  down  with  red  clay  and  flew  up  against  the 
wire.  They  could  not  believe  that  that  pygmy  man  whom 
they  had  got  the  better  of  for  years  had  really  foiled  them  at 
last.  For  days  and  weeks  they  continued  the  attack  and 
many,  many  perished  in  their  determined  efforts  to  squeeze 
through  openings  too  small  for  them. 

But  to  return  to  the  peacock  and  his  search  for  his  lost 
love.  He  reminded  me  of  that  tragic  scene  in  Gluck's 
"Orpheus  and  Eurydice"  when  he  dares  to  enter  the  vast 
terrible  kingdom  of  the  dead  in  his  search  for  his  beloved  — 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  417 

the  eager,  pathetic  gaze  into  the  lifeless  face  of  each  veiled 
form,  the  joy  of  imagined  recognition,  only  to  fade  into  dis- 
appointment and  horror  as  returning  life  shows  the  mistaken 
identity.  The  peacock  grew  thinner  and  thinner.  Occa- 
sionally he  would  go  into  the  busy  poultry  yard  and  spread 
out  his  beautiful  fan  and  salaam  to  the  white  Leghorn  hens 
and  win  their  cackling  admiration,  but  those  exhibitions 
became  rarer  each  year,  and  finally  he  disappeared.  I  am 
quite  sure  he  sought  the  solitude  of  the  forest  to  die. 

I  miss  him  all  the  time  in  spite  of  his  mischievous  activity, 
for  he  was  a  part  of  the  place.  I  tried  very  hard  to  get  a  mate 
for  him,  but  never  found  one.  In  the  years  gone  by  peafowl 
were  very  common  through  this  country.  We  used  to  call 
it  our  episcopal  dish,  for  every  year  when  the  Bishop  of  the 
diocese  stayed  with  us  on  his  visit  to  the  parish,  mamma  had 
a  roast  peacock  as  part  of  the  dinner.  The  breast  is  very 
large,  like  that  of  a  partridge,  and  of  a  very  delicate  game 
flavor. 

Since  the  clay  workers  can  be  kept  out  it  seems  worth 
while  to  destroy  all  traces  of  them  and  have  the  wall  white 
and  fair  once  more.  As  the  work  progresses  and  the  air  of 
desolation  is  subdued  my  spirits  rise,  and  I  wonder  how  I 
have  stood  it  so  long.  It  is  well  there  is  something  to  cheer 
my  spirits,  for  the  financial  outlook  is  appalling. 

The  storm-tossed  crop  is  hopeless,  the  corn  all  damaged ;  in 
the  little  that  there  is,  not  a  perfect  ear. 

November  14. 

Great  rejoicing  !  To-day's  mail  brought  a  letter  from 
J.  L.  H.  saying  she  would  be  here  Monday.  Day  spent  in 
trying  to  get  the  house  in  winter  trim,  for  it  is  very  cold. 
Got  down  most  of  the  carpets  and  rugs,  but  could  not  get 
the  curtains  up.  They  are  all  sewed  up  in  homespun  bags 
in  the  spring  with  camphor  or  moth  balls,  and  it  really  is  a 
day's  work  to  get  them  all  out  and  beaten  and  aired. 
2e 


418  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

November  15. 

A  tremendous  day.  Took  my  clearest  J.  down  to  Greg- 
ory and  then  to  Woodstock,  where  it  was  so  pleasant  that 
I  lingered  too  long.  I  had  had  a  great  deal  of  business  to 
see  about  in  Gregory,  so  that  we  were  late  getting  in  to 
Woodstock.  I  had  fortunately  bought  a  lantern  and  I 
needed  it  very  soon  after  leaving  Woodstock,  the  road  being 
very  winding  and  intricate  for  the  first  three  miles. 

At  the  ferry  the  man  called  to  me  to  drive  in  quickly,  as 
there  was  a  tug  coming  clown  the  river  bringing  him  a  new 
flat,  and  he  must  get  me  over  as  quickly  as  possible  to  return 
and  change  flats.  Goliah,  who  had  gone  behind  on  the  buck- 
board  with  me,  was  much  excited  and  added  all  his  strength 
to  the  two  men  in  pulling  the  flat  over.  When  we  got  about 
halfway  over  Moses,  the  ferryman,  saw  that  the  tug  was 
coining  clown  rapidly  upon  the  wire.  He  called  to  the  cap- 
tain, a  negro,  to  stop.  This  did  no  good  at  all.  On,  on,  came 
the  snorting  tug  like  a  relentless  fate. 

It  was  a  dreadful  situation,  for  I  feared  Ruth  would  turn 
her  head,  and  then  I  knew  she  would  jump  out  of  the  flat. 
Fortunately  I  had  driven  her  hard  and  she  was  thankful  to 
be  quiet.  While  I  was  wondering  that  Ruth  was  so  quiet 
something  happened,  I  did  not  know  what. 

The  four  men  and  Goliah,  who  were  pulling,  were  thrown 
to  the  floor  of  the  flat,  Ruth  was  nearly  thrown  flat, 
and  the  steel  rope  with  which  the  flat  was  pulled  lashed 
round  the  buckboard's  wheels,  fortunately  not  reaching  the 
mare.  I  was  thrown  out  on  the  wheel  and  before  I  had 
righted  myself  Goliah  picked  himself  up  and  flew  to  Ruth's 
head,  which  I  thought  a  wonderful  evidence  of  fidelity  to  a 
responsibility,  and  it  was  lucky  that  he  did  so,  for  as  soon  as 
she  realized  that  we  were  out  of  our  course  and  not  making 
for  shore,  Ruth  became  very  restless  and  impatient. 

Moses  yelled  to  the  man  nearest  the  broken  end  of  the  rope 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  419 

to  seize  it,  which  he  did,  and  that  was  a  mercy,  for  if  it  had 
escaped  we  would  have  drifted  down  the  river  without  any 
means  of  regulating  or  guiding  our  course.  Then  the  men 
all  pulled  together  on  the  rope  and  ran  the  flat  up  into  the 
bushes  about  200  feet  from  the  slip  where  the  fiat  lands. 

It  was  quite  dark,  only  two  lanterns  being  in  the  flat,  mine 
and  the  one  the  ferryman  had.  After  tremendous  effort 
they  got  the  flat  to  touch  the  slip  at  one  end,  leaving  about 
four  feet  of  water  at  the  other.  I  saw  that  was  the  best  they 
could  do  and  that  it  could  only  stay  so  for  one  second,  so 
I  called,  "Hold  it  so  for  a  minute."  I  told  Goliah  to  let  go 
Ruth's  head  and  spoke  to  her,  and  as  she  hesitated  gave  her 
a  sharp  cut  with  the  whip.  She  leaped  out  over  the  gap  and 
we  were  safe  on  land. 

I  drove  home  too  thankful  for  words  for  the  great  escape. 
Just  the  thought  that  we  might  have  been  swirling  round, 
drifting  down  toward  the  sea  with  the  current,  made  the  drive 
home  seem  a  delight.  "When  I  went  to  get  out  of  the  buck- 
board,  however,  I  found  I  was  a  rag  and  could  scarcely  stand. 

November  17.    • 

Went  out  immediately  after  breakfast  and  saw  Gibbie 
put  half  a  bushel  of  cow-peas  in  the  big  pot,  fill  it  with  water, 
and  make  the  fire  under  it  to  boil  food  for  cows.  Then  I  told 
him  to  start  ploughing  in  the  half  acre  of  oats.  Bonaparte 
had  already  scattered  the  seed.  Later  in  the  day  I  walked 
clown  to  the  field  to  see  the  work,  and  found  Gibbie  had  not 
done  a  stroke,  had  simply  gone  home,  leaving  the  oats  on  the 
earth  for  the  birds  to  devour.  I  was  too  angry  to  go  in  pur- 
suit of  him.  I  find  it  very  unwise  to  speak  until  I  have  cooled 
off.  As  Bonaparte  said  to  me  once,  "Ef  you  don't  tek  keer 
clese  peeple'll  mek  yu  los  yo'  soul." 

The  corn  has  been  so  stolen  that  there  is  scarcely  a  fifth 
of  a  crop  —  all  the  big  ears  gone,  leaving  only  nubbins.     The 


420  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

horses  are  all  weak  from  lack  of  food  and  I  feel  desperate. 
Even  Goliah  is  changed  !  All  the  joy  and  fun  and  play  seem 
to  have  left  him,  and  his  fat  little  black  face  looks  like  a 
thunder-cloud. 

His  household  at  home  are  urging  him  to  demand  more 
wages,  and  he  does  not  wish  to  do  it,  and  yet  the  clamor  there 
makes  him  discontented.  I  brought  him  a  suit  of  clothes 
and  a  pair  of  shoes,  in  which  complete  outfit  he  sleeps.  The 
weather  being  very  mild,  I  beg  him  to  save  the  shoes  for  cold 
weather,  as  he  has  never  worn  shoes  before ;  but  in  vain,  unless 
I  put  them  up  for  him,  which  I  do  not  wish  to  do,  for  I  wish 
him  to  have  the  full  enjoyment  of  them.  He  found  an  old 
pair  of  white  kid  gloves  in  the  buckboard.  I  had  used  them 
to  wear  about  the  place  and  somehow  left  them  there.  Yes- 
terday he  asked  me  for  them  and  now  he  wears  them  all  the 
time  —  cutting  wood,  eating  dinner. 

I  tried  to  translate  in  concise  and  striking  words  the  French 
proverb,  "Chat  gante  n'attrape  point  de  souris,"  but  it 
had  no  effect ;  he  sits  gazing  at  his  shoes,  his  white-gloved 
hands  folded  in  his  lap.  I  have  sent  him  to  school,  as  the 
public  school  is  only  half  a  mile  away,  and  there  is  a  good 
teacher,  but  nothing  can  restore  the  little  gay  Goliah,  who 
jigged  as  he  walked. 

He  has  eaten  of  the  apple  and  been  driven  out  from  the 
Eden  of  childhood  and  from  henceforth  will  always  be  won- 
dering how  much  he  can  get  out  of  me.  I  knew  it  had  to 
come,  but  I  am  so  sorry,  and  I  miss  the  little  boy  so  much. 

Sunday,  November  20. 

Our  rector's  Sunday  with  us.  He  gave  a  very  interesting 
sketch  of  the  church  convention,  which  he  had  attended. 
I  had  to  play  the  organ  as  well  as  do  all  the  singing,  as  Miss 
Penelope  was  not  able  to  come.  I  thought  it  was  impossible, 
but  really  nothing  is  impossible,  for  when  I  got  home  feeling 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  421 

like  a  rag  I  found  Zadok  waiting  for  me  —  "to  ask  my  ad- 
vice," he  said. 

I  had  not  laid  eyes  on  him  for  years,  but  he  is  the  son  of  a 
faithful  servant  and  was  born  in  our  servants'  hall  just  before 
the  end  of  the  war.  He  has  prospered,  married  well,  and  has  a 
large  family,  who  all  help  in  the  cultivation  of  his  farm  of 
twenty  acres.  Now  that  he  has  got  into  trouble  he  comes 
at  once  to  me. 

His  great  snare  is  the  dreadful  firewater.  He  told  me  he 
had  got  into  "a  tangle."  Coming  back  from  Gregory  one 
day  when  he  was  "not  quite  himself"  he  had  been  accused 
of  cursing  and  making  a  disturbance.  He  had  been  notified 
that  he  would  be  indicted,  and  when  he  went  to  remonstrate 
the  man  said  if  he  paid  $25  he  would  drop  the  case ;  but  he 
had  put  off  and  put  off,  and  now  hears  the  case  is  to  be  tried 
to-morrow. 

I  made  him  tell  me  everything  and  felt  sure  the  only  thing 
for  him  to  do  is  to  pay  the  money  as  quickly  as  he  can,  for 
if  the  trial  comes  off  it  will  go  hard  with  him.  He  is  known 
as  very  obstreperous  and  noisy  when  under  the  influence 
of  liquor,  though  peaceable  and  civil  otherwise  ;  so  I  told  him 
to  get  the  money  as  quickly  as  he  could  and  try  to  pay  it 
before  the  trial  came  up.  I  was  greatly  worried  about  it 
and  had  Jim  put  Alcyone  in  the  small  buckboard  and  drive  me 
down  to  Mr.  B.'s.  I  took  a  very  pretty  apple  geranium  as  an 
offering  to  his  wife. 

I  told  them  I  had  come  to  see  what  I  could  do  to  help 
Zadok,  that  I  was  much  distressed  to  hear  he  had  misbehaved, 
that  his  father  had  been  our  trusted  and  faithful  servant  dur- 
ing the  war  when  there  was  no  man  at  home,  and  I  begged 
them  if  he  promised  to  pay  the  $25  to  drop  the  case.  Mr.  B. 
said  he  thought  it  had  now  gone  beyond  his  power  to  drop  it, 
but  he  would  try  what  could  be  done.  On  the  way  home  I 
met  Zadok  in  his  buggy,  which  is  a  very  nice  one,  driving  his 


422 


A     WOMAN    RICE    PLANTER 


horse,  which  is  a  very  good  one.  I  told  him  I  had  done  all  I 
could  and  begged  him  to  make  a  humble  apology.  He  said 
he  would  and  seemed  much  impressed. 

Little  Alcyone  is  a  swift  little  filly  and  went  splendidly,  but 
she  is  not  large  enough  to  take  two  people  in  a  buckboard 
that  drive  of  sixteen  miles  at  the  pace  she  likes  to  go.  It  is 
an  unwise  thing  to  let  her  do  it. 
She  should  have  a  light  road  cart 
only,  for  she  will  not  walk  at  all. 
I  really  felt  when  I  got  home  as 
though  I  had  been  actively  em- 
ployed from  the  time  of  Noah 
and  the  flood.  Zadok  promised 
me  to  stop  drinking.  God  help 
him  to  keep  his  promise  ! 

Cherokee,  November  27. 

Before  I  started  out  this 
morning  I  called  for  Bonaparte 
and  showed  him  a  large  port- 
folio of  engravings  and  prints 
and  told  him  to  make  a  light 
wooden  frame  into  which  I  could  slip  it  to  send  by  express. 
I  specially  told  him  to  leave  one  end  open  so  that  I  could  put 
the  portfolio  in  myself.  When  I  got  back  from  Casa  Bianca 
this  evening  I  found  the  very  neat  little  light  frame  and  was 
delighted,  until  I  found  the  portfolio  was  nailed  up  in  it  so 
securely  that  I  would  have  had  to  break  the  frame  to  get  it 
out.  It  was  too  provoking,  for  I  had  not  meant  by  any 
means  to  send  all  its  contents. 

The  time  for  the  payment  of  taxes  has  come.  Mine  are 
over  $100  and  my  little  cotton  crop  cannot  cover  them  after 
paying  my  yearly  accounts,  so  I  must  sell  something,  and  I 
decided  to  send  some  of  the  things  in  the  portfolio  on  to  New 


Casa  Bianca. 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  423 

York  to  be  sold.  There  are  a  lot  of  queer  old  things  in  it 
which  many  would  call  rubbish,  but  which  I  delight  in  —  a 
map  of  the  city  of  Charleston  in  its  veriest  infancy  and  en- 
gravings of  a  horse  and  dog  which  had  won  beautiful  silver 
prizes  in  1760  or  thereabouts.  These  things  are  of  great 
interest  in  the  family  and  especially  to  me,  who  live  in  the 
past  so  much. 

Then  there  were  some  water  colors  I  wanted  to  keep. 
Altogether  this  seems  the  last  straw  to  a  very  tired  camel. 
Bonaparte  had  gone  home,  it  was  late  Saturday  evening,  and 
Jim  is  to  take  the  box  down  to  Gregory  when  he  goes  to- 
morrow to  send  off  by  express  Monday,  and  I  just  gave  up 
and  let  them  all  go.  The  eternal  struggle  against  contrarie- 
ties and  difficulties  is  too  much  for  me. 

The  time  for  tax  paying  has  nearly  passed  and  if  I  do  not 

send  the  things  off  to-morrow  they  will  have  to  wait  another 

week. 

December  7. 

The  pace  has  been  most  rapid  for  some  time  and  I  find  that 
when  I  have  pleasant  companionship  I  neglect  my  faithful 
dumb  confidant. 

Bonaparte's  wedding  preparations  have  caused  me  much 
anxiety.  I  promised  him  some  money  for  the  occasion  and 
sold  two  of  my  precious  young  heifers  to  be  sure  to  have  it, 
but  there  has  been  some  hitch  and  the  money  has  not  reached 
me,  and  when  he  came  for  it  yesterday  I  had  to  tell  him  I  did 
not  have  it,  which  hurt  me. 

To-day  by  mail  arrived  two  large  packages,  both  with 
special  delivery  stamps  on  them,  a  beautiful  frock-coat  and 
waistcoat.  My  dearest  L.  had  sent  them  to  Bonaparte.  I 
hurried  out  to  his  house  with  them.  He  was  out,  but  I  put 
them  in  his  daughter's  hands.  He  had  confided  to  me  his 
anxiety  as  to  his  wedding  garments,  as  he  said  the  wedding 
being  in  town  he  wished  to  be  suitably  dressed.     I  wrote  all 


42-i  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

this  to  L.  and  she  truly  did  the  impossible  in  getting  them 
here  in  time,  as  she  only  returned  to  Washington  from  the 
mountains  two  days  ago. 

Just  before  dinner  D.  arrived,  having  brought  a  present 
of  two  mallard  ducks.  I  was  so  charmed  to  have  them, 
for  C.  leaves,  to  my  regret,  to-morrow.  Later  I  received  the 
check  I  had  been  expecting,  so  that  I  had  the  satisfaction 
and  relief  of  sending  for  Bonaparte,  who  had  not  yet  started 
for  Gregory,  and  fulfilling  my  promise. 

He  was  radiant.  All's  well  that  ends  well,  I  suppose,  but 
I  have  really  suffered  from  the  tension  of  fearing  that  the 
faithful  old  man  was  going  to  be  disappointed. 

December  9. 

Sent  C.  and  her  delightful  little  Albert  down  to  take  the 
train  yesterday.  Their  visit  has  been  an  unalloyed  pleasure. 
Jim,  being  in  Gregory,  attended  Bonaparte's  wedding  at 
8  o'clock  last  evening.  He  says  it  was  a  most  elegant  and 
well-conducted  affair,  with  an  abundance  of  good  cake  and 
wine,  and  his  respect  for  Daddy  B.  has  risen  immensely, 
which  is  a  comfort  and  relief  to  me,  for  they  are  not  very 
friendly.  Bonaparte  boasts,  "Yes,  Jim  kin  mak  de  crop, 
but  Jim  ain't  got  de  key ;  I  got  de  key,"  and  of  course  that 
is  aggravating. 

I  am  very  sensible  of  the  thorns  which  accompany  the  roses 
of  faithful  service  with  both  Chloe  and  Bonaparte,  but  all 
the  same  I  thank  the  good  Father  for  the  thorns,  because  of 
the  roses  which  sweeten  my  life. 

December  13. 

A  good  steady  rain  last  night,  thank  God.  There  was  a 
frightful  danger  of  fire  getting  away  in  the  woods.  Every 
one  was  nervous  about  it.  I  am  very  tired,  for  I  had  to  burn 
the  chimneys,  which  always  scares  me  terribly.  I  always  have 
Bonaparte  to  help,  and  this  morning  he  did  not  want  to  do 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  425 

it  and  said  there  was  not  rain  enough  and  was  rude  to  Chloe 
when  she  called  him,  so  I  determined  to  burn  them  myself. 

I  take  a  large  newspaper,  pour  about  a  tablespoonful  of 
kerosene  on  it,  holding  the  end  in  the  tongs,  and  as  soon  as  it 
takes  fire  thrust  it  as  far  up  the  chimney  as  my  arm  will 
allow,  which  is  not  far ;  that  is  the  reason  I  like  to  have  Bona- 
parte do  it.  In  an  instant  the  whole  chimney  is  ablaze,  with 
a  terrific  roaring.  Patty  was  stationed  outside  to  see  if  any 
of  the  blazing  soot  lighted  on  the  roof;  I  on  my  knees  in 
front  of  the  fireplace  prayed  with  all  my  might ;  the  terror 
that  there  may  be  a  crack  or  flaw  in  the  chimney  is  always 
with  me.  The  great  matter  is  to  burn  often  and  then  there 
is  no  great  accumulation  of  soot. 

It  has  always  been  a  thing  I  had  to  wind  myself  up  for, 
and  requires  all  my  will  to  make  me  do  it.  Once  I  was  so 
demoralized  about  it  that  I  got  a  man  to  come  with  a  regular 
little  chimney-sweep  from  Gregory.  The  little  fellow  went 
up  one  chimney,  but  when  he  came  down  he  wept  and  pleaded 
so  not  to  go  up  again,  saying  the  chimneys  were  so  long,  three 
stories,  and  the  flues  crossed  so  that  he  could  not  breathe,  and 
I  would  not  let  the  man  send  him  up  again.  It  was  an  ex- 
pensive experiment,  and  I  concluded  the  old  time  way  of 
burning  out  was  the  best,  and  try  to  make  myself  do  it  once 

a  month. 

Cherokee,  December  14. 

A  July  day,  rainy  and  hot.  War  in  the  kitchen  zone. 
Goliah  roused  Chloe's  ire  and  she  fell  upon  him  with  fury. 
When  I  went  down  to  remonstrate  with  Goliah  he  was  in  a 
great  rage  and  I  heard  him  mumbling,  "Yes,  if  I  only  had  my 
axe  I  wud  'a'  settle  'em,"  and  nothing  I  said  could  have  any 
effect,  so  I  had  to  tell  him  to  leave  the  yard  and  not  return. 

It  will  be  a  loss  to  me,  because  I  know  all  his  faults  and  can 
generally  meet  them,  and  he  is  very  competent  for  one  of  his 
size  with  the  horses,  and  drives  very  well.     I  take  him  every- 


426  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

where  with  me  on  the  buckboard,  but  he  has  a  morose,  morbid 
temper  and  he  has  been  very  rude  and  impertinent  to  Chloe, 
so  I  cannot  keep  him. 

December  15. 

While  I  was  wondering  how  I  was  to  manage,  Jim  being 
away,  without  Goliah  to  put  the  horse  in  for  me  to  go  to 
church,  and  again  in  the  evening  for  the  rector,  who  is  here 
on  his  monthly  visit,  to  go  to  St.  Cyprian's,  the  negro  church, 
Chloe  came  in  and  said  :  — 

"Goliah  is  yere.  He  dun  ax  my  pa'don  en  I  gib  urn,  en  I 
tell  him  I  keep  nuthin'  agenst  him." 

I  think  it  was  as  great  a  relief  to  her  as  it  was  to  me  to  see 
him  installed  again.     I  trust  now  peace  will  reign  for  a  while. 

December  16. 

Have  the  great  pleasure  of  our  Bishop's  yearly  visit.  He 
came  last  evening  after  holding  service  at  St.  Cyprian's,  the 
Colored  chapel.  It  rained  all  night  and  looked  very  dismal 
this  morning,  but  as  we  sat  at  breakfast  the  sun  came  out  and 
we  were  all  rejoiced.  It  is  the  event  of  the  year  in  the  parish 
and  the  disappointment  of  a  rainy  day  would  be  intense. 

We  started  for  Peace ville  at  10 :  15  and  I  was  delighted  to 
find  Miss  Penelope  able  to  be  at  her  post  at  the  organ.  It 
was  a  solemn  service,  with  confirmation.  The  Bishop,  Mr. 
G.,  and  I  were  invited  to  a  delicious  lunch  before  going  on  to 
the  little  chapel  in  the  woods.  The  chapel  had  been  white- 
washed and  well  scoured  and  beautifully  dressed  in  honor  of 
the  Bishop's  visit,  being  all  hung  with  holly,  moss,  and  ever- 
greens. 

The  sight  was  touching.  All  the  women  had  met  together 
and  scoured  first  and  then  decked  it  with  nature's  wreaths. 
Poor  little  Alifair  had  brought  her  month-old  baby,  which 
weighed  about  five  pounds,  to  be  christened.  She  asked  me 
to  be  godmother  and  I  found  she  had  named  it  after  me.     Her 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  427 

mother  told  me  this  and  asked  anxiously:  "Miss  Patience, 
you  won't  mind  ?" 

"  No,  no,"  I  said  ;  "it  is  always  a  compliment."  But  when 
I  found  it  was  a  combination  of  my  name  with  my  dear 
mother's  I  felt  a  little  abashed. 

The  little  thing  was  so  very  white  and  so  very  tiny  that 
I  felt  almost  afraid  to  handle  her,  poor  little  mite.  The 
father,  a  boy  of  18,  found  matrimony  too  serious  and  slipped 
away  some  months  ago. 

The  church  was  very  full  and  I  think  they  all  carried  away 
real  help  in  their  daily  lives  from  the  Bishop's  sermon.  We 
did  not  get  home  until  nearly  dark,  but  it  had  been  a  most 
delightful  day. 

Goliah  has  been  behaving  very  badly  lately.  Chloe  came 
to  me  looking  very  portentous  one  day  to  tell  me  he  had  a 
gun  hid  in  the  kitchen  in  the  yard  and  that  when  anything 
went  against  him  or  she  told  him  to  get  more  wood  he 
would  bring  out  the  gun  and  threaten  to  shoot  Patty  and 
herself. 

Goliah  was  out  at  the  time  and  I  asked  Patty  if  she  knew 
where  the  gun  was.  She  said  yes,  and  I  told  her  to  bring  it 
to  me,  which  she  did,  and  I  locked  it  up.  When  Goliah  came 
home  and  missed  the  gun  from  its  hiding-place  he  went  on 
terribly,  Chloe  said,  cursing  and  swearing  to  kill  every  one. 

I  was  busy  in  the  house  and  heard  nothing  of  this,  but 
finally  he  came  to  me  before  he  went  home  and  said  Patty 
had  taken  his  gun  and  please  to  make  her  give  it  to  him. 
I  answered :  — 

"I  took  the  gun  which  has  made  you  behave  so  badly  and 
have  locked  it  up." 

"De  my  Brudder  Bill  gun,  en'  I  want  um." 

"When  your  brother  wants  his  gun  he  can  come  for  it, 
but  I  cannot  permit  you  to  have  a  gun  in  this  yard.  Never 
again  dare  to  bring  one  !" 


428  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

He  went  off  very  sulkily.  The  next  day  Bill's  wife  came 
and  asked  for  the  gun,  saying  it  was  her  husband's.  I  told 
her  if  I  gave  it  to  her  it  must  be  on  condition  that  she  never 
let  Goliah  have  it  again.  Lizette  was  with  her  and  I  appealed 
to  her  to  witness  to  Dorcas's  promise  never  to  let  Goliah  have 
the  gun.  The  promise  was  made  and  I  gave  up  the  gun. 
Since  then  quiet  has  reigned  in  the  yard. 

I  do  not  know  how  old  Goliah  is,  but  he  is  four  and  one- 
half  feet  high,  and  when  he  is  good,  like  the  little  girl  we 
have  heard  of  all  our  lives,  he  is  very,  very  good,  and  when 
he  is  bad  he  is  certainly  horrid.     Now  he  is  in  a  bad  spell. 

December  18. 

A  beautiful  morning.  Ran  out  to  the  gate  with  a  letter. 
When  I  got  a  bundle  of  mail  and  opening  it  saw  a  telegram, 
I  sank  down  on  the  ground  in  fright  — ■  and  sitting  there 
read  the  message.  Sorrow  for  those  I  love,  and  it  is  too  late 
for  me  to  reach  them  in  time  for  the  funeral. 

While  I  was  debating  what  to  do  a  boy  came  up  with  a  note 
from  Miss  Penelope  :  "Terrific  fire  burning  around  Peaceville. 
Miss  Pandora  and  Miss  Ermine  were  nearly  burned  out. 
Miss  E.  worked  like  a  trojan  to  save  it.  Better  look  out  for 
your  premises." 

I  ordered  Bonaparte  to  take  Adam,  Nan,  and  a  wagon  with 
hoes  and  rakes  and  drive  out  to  the  village  and  give  all  the 
help  he  could,  and  protect  my  yard  if  possible.  As  soon  as  I 
had  given  these  orders  I  drove  out  myself  to  take  a  telegram 
to  the  mail. 

I  found  Miss  Pandora  and  Miss  Ermine  looking  as  though 
they  had  been  through  a  great  illness.  The  fire  threatened 
for  two  days  and  a  night,  and  they  had  fought  it  all  that 
time,  but  it  was  now  put  out.  While  I  was  in  the  village  the 
wind  changed  and  the  fire  appeared  in  another  direction. 
I  had  Jim  take  Ruth  and  Marietta  out  and  tie  them  in  my 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  429 

yard,  so  that  he  could  go  and  help  put  out  the  new  fire.  I 
took  a  young  pine  sapling  and  helped  beat  it  out. 

It  is  awful  to  hear  the  roar  of  fire  through  the  pine  woods 
and  know  how  hopeless  it  would  be  if  it  once  crossed  the 
line  and  rolled  around  the  rambling,  elongated  village. 
The  negro  men  and  women  who  happened  to  be  near  be- 
haved very  well  and  worked  with  a  will,  and  I  will  certainly 
reward  them  generously.  I  stayed  until  the  fire  seemed 
finally  out  and  by  burning  a  space  to  meet  the  oncoming 
flames,  I  trust  the  danger  is  past.  Those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  wood  fires,  and  there  are  men  in  the  village  who 
have  had  experience  and  directed  the  work,  now  think  it  is 
safe. 

I  sent  a  telegram  to  ask  if  I  was  needed,  and  if  an  answer 
comes  I  will  go ;  if  no  answer  comes  I  will  know  they  do  not 
need  me.  It  would  be  difficult  for  me  to  go  just  now,  as  I  am 
expecting  some  sportsmen  as  paying  guests,  and  must  be  at 
home.     I  am  as  nervous  as  though  I  were  going  to  execution. 

Cherokee,  December  22. 

I  was  sitting  at  dinner  to-day  when  I  heard  Goliah  run 
up  the  front  steps  and  ring  the  bell  violently.  Knowing 
from  the  sound  that  there  was  something  the  matter,  instead 
of  sending  Patty,  who  is  in  a  constant  state  of  war  with  him, 
I  went  out  myself.  He  was  panting  as  from  a  long  run  and 
gasped  out :  — 

"Pa  baig  yu  for  meet  'um  to  de  front  gate." 

"When?" 

"Rite  now,  soon  ez  yu  kin  git  dey." 

"Where  is  your  father?" 

"Him  dey  'een  de  sheriff  buggy  gwine  to  de  chain  gang." 

"How  is  that  possible?" 

"Dem  had  um  to  Mr.  Haman  to  de  co't  dis  mawnin'." 

"Who  had  him  there?" 


430  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

"Dorcas  en  him  ma,  en  pa  dun  condem'." 

I  waited  for  no  more,  entirely  forgetting  that  I  had  not 
eaten  my  dinner  of  delicious  shad.  I  put  on  my  hat  and  flew 
out  to  the  front  gate.  One  feels  very  tenderly  for  those  one 
has  helped  and  poor  Elihu  has  been  a  care  and  anxiety  to  me 
for  years. 

His  family  relations  have  always  been  difficult  and  com- 
plicated. His  second  wife  and  nearly  all  his  children  having 
died  of  a  galloping  consumption,  he  has  now  taken  a  third 
wife  who  has  eight  children  of  her  own  and  is  a  termagant,  so 
that  though  he  works  hard,  and  is  honest  and  law  abiding 
after  a  fashion,  and  very  civil,  even  courteous,  in  manner,  he 
is  always  in  some  trouble,  generally  debt.  On  my  way  to 
the  gate  I  met  Lizette,  his  daughter,  crying  as  she  ran  on  her 
way  to  call  me.  I  asked  what  it  meant,  as  I  had  been  unable 
to  get  anything  out  of  Goliah,  and  she  explained  to  me  that 
Elihu  had  been  away  working  in  a  lumber  camp  when  Goliah 
had  threatened  Chloe  with  the  gun,  and  when  he  came  home 
and  heard  of  it  he  was  very  angry,  and  said  Bill  had  no 
right  to  let  Goliah  have  the  gun ;  that  he  had  lent  it  to  Bill 
when  he  was  getting  well  from  typhoid  fever  and  able  to 
walk  about  and  shoot,  because  Bill's  gun  had  been  taken  for 
debt,  he  never  having  paid  for  it  after  the  first  instalment. 

Yesterday  Elihu  went  to  Bill's  house  and  asked  for  the 
gun.  Bill  was  out  and  his  wife  refused  to  give  up  the  gun, 
upon  which  Elihu  scolded  her,  no  doubt  in  strong  language, 
until  finally  she  went  to  her  trunk  and  took  it  out  piece  by 
piece,  trying  her  best  to  convince  him  that  she  did  not  have 
all  the  parts.  She  ended,  however,  by  giving  them  all  up. 
When  her  mother  came  in  she  reviled  her  for  being  so 
meek  spirited  as  to  take  a  scolding  from  Elihu  and  give  up 
the  gun  and  proceeded  to  curse  and  abuse  Elihu. 

Of  course  he  was  not  found  wanting  in  retorts  and  a  neigh- 
bor had  to  come  in  and  make  the  peace.  Elihu  thought  nothing 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  431 

more  of  it  until  he  received  a  summons  this  morning  from  the 
so-called  Judge  to  appear  in  court.  He  went  with  no  idea 
of  anything  serious,  had  no  witnesses  even,  but  found  that 
Dorcas's  mother  had  indicted  him. 

By  this  time  we  reached  the  avenue  gate  and  I  sent  Lizette 
to  run  to  tell  Jim,  who  was  ploughing  in  the  field,  to  put 
Ruth  in  the  buckboard  quickly  and  bring  her  to  the  gate. 
Shortly  after  I  reached  the  avenue  gate  a  buggy  drove  up 
containing  Mr.  Stout,  the  deputy  sheriff,  and  Elihu,  look- 
ing too  downcast,  black,  and  forlorn  for  words. 

Elihu  is  of  a  peculiarly  rich  shade  of  black,  almost  blue 
black.  His  own  mother  when  he  was  a  boy  always  spoke  of 
him  as  "dat  black  nigger."  Through  all  the  trials  and  trib- 
ulations of  his  fifty  years  of  life  he  has  never  been  in  danger 
of  the  chain  gang  before,  for  he  has  kept  a  good  character 
for  one  of  his  hue,  and  now  the  certain  prospect  of  the  gang 
unless  some  miracle  happened  had  crushed  the  spirit  out  of 
him.  I  scarcely  would  have  known  him.  I  walked  out  of 
the  gate  and  said  :  — 

"Why,  Mr.  Stout,  what  does  this  mean?" 

"It  means,  Miss  Patience,  that  I'm  a-taking  Elihu  to  the 
chain  gang.     I've  got  the  warrant  in  my  pocket." 

"And  on  what  ground?" 

"For  cursing,  Miss  Patience,  and  making  a  disturbance 
on  the  public  highway." 

"Was  he  not  in  his  son's  house  ?" 

"Yes,  Miss  Patience,  but  the  Judge  says  that  is  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  public  road." 

"Has  it  been  measured,  Mr.  Stout?" 

"No,  ma'am,  Miss  Patience,  'tain't  been  measured,  but 
the  woman  said  it  was  only  forty  yards  from  the  road,  en  the 
Judge  said  he  knowed  the  place  and  that  was  right." 

"What  is  the  sentence?" 

"Thirty  days  on  the  gang,  Miss  Patience,  or  a  fine  of  $50." 


432  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

"Mr.  Stout,"  I  said,  "you  turn  right  round  with  me  and 
drive  back  to  Mr.  Hainan  with  Elihu.  That  house  is  more 
than  fifty  yards  from  the  highway." 

This  he  said  he  dared  not  do. 

By  this  time  Jim  had  brought  Ruth  in  the  buckboard,  and 
I  got  in  and  drove  out  of  the  gate. 

"Mr.  Stout,"  I  said,  "I  thank  you  very  much  for  having 
driven  this  way  so  that  Elihu  could  see  me,  and  I  have  a  favor 
to  ask  of  you.  If  you  are  afraid  to  go  back  with  me,  at  least 
promise  me  you  will  wait  at  the  turn  of  the  road,  until  I  come 
back.  I  will  drive  fast,  you  won't  have  long  to  wait,  but 
you  must  do  it,"  and  before  he  could  answer  I  had  driven  off. 

It  was  a  very  cold  evening  and  nearly  dark.  In  my  excite- 
ment I  had  put  on  no  extra  cloak,  but  I  did  not  feel  the  cold. 
In  marvellously  short  time  the  four  miles  were  passed  and  I 
stood  at  Mr.  Hainan's  gate.  Goliah  opened  it  and  I  told 
him  to  wait  there  until  I  came  back,  as  I  did  not  want  him  to 
hear  the  conversation. 

On  my  second  call  Mr.  Haman  came  out  and  was  of 
course  much  surprised  to  see  me.  He  was  most  polite, 
and  eager  to  invite  me  in. 

"Come  in,  come  in,  Miss  Patience,  I  beg  you,"  he  said, 
"this  wind  is  too  piercing  for  you.  I  beg  you  will  let  me  tie 
your  horse." 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Haman,  but  I  cannot  come  in.  I  have 
only  a  moment's  business  with  you.  I  want  you  to  give  me 
an  order  to  Mr.  Stout  to  release  Elihu." 

With  a  smile  of  greatest  indulgence  he  replied,  "You  know, 
Miss  Patience,  I'd  do  anything  to  oblige  you,  but  my  duty, 
my  duty,  madam,  is  my  first  consideration,  and  even  for  you 
I  must  refuse  to  do  anything  contrary  to  my  duty." 

"Tell  me,"  I  said,  "of  what  he  is  convicted  and  what  is 
the  sentence?" 

"He  is  convicted  of  cursing  and  creating  a  disturbance 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  433 

within  fifty  yards  of  the  public  highway,  and  the  sentence  is 
thirty  days'  work  on  the  chain  gang  or  a  fine  of  fifty  dollars." 

"Mr.  Haman,  you  must  sign  that  release  until  the  distance 
is  measured.  I  know  that  it  is  more  than  fifty  yards  from 
the  road  to  Bill's  house,  and  until  that  distance  is  measured 
his  committal  to  the  gang  is  illegal.  Elihu  is  a  hard  working, 
docile,  respectable  negro.  If  I  wanted  anything  hard  done 
to-night  such  as  to  send  by  land  or  water  ten  miles  Elihu  is 
the  man  I  could  call  upon,  knowing  he  would  not  refuse. 
If  I  had  occasion  to  drive  forty  miles  this  night  through 
the  darkness,  Elihu  is  a  man  I  could  trust  to  take  me  safely 
through  the  darkness  and  do  it  cheerfully.  And  you  think 
I  will  see  him  put  on  the  chain  gang  illegally  ?  You  don't 
know  me,  Mr.  Haman." 

He  listened  as  if  he  did  not  hear,  so  determined  was  he  not 
to  yield  and  so  accustomed  to  shake  the  law  at  people. 

He  said  he  would  get  the  book  and  read  me  the  section,  but 
I  said  that  was  unnecessary,  I  knew  the  law ;  the  point  was 
whether  this  case  was  within  the  legal  distance.  Darkness 
was  coming  and  I  was  making  no  headway.  At  last  I 
said  :  — 

"If  I  were  to  sign  a  note  for  fifty  dollars  would  you  give 
me  the  order  for  his  release  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  Miss  Patience,  if  you  pay  the  money  that'll  be  all 
right." 

"Very  well ;  bring  me  ink,  pen,  and  paper  and  I  will  sign." 

He  went  in  and  returned  very  quickly  with  pen,  ink,  and  a 
check.  I  had  not  meant  to  sign  a  check,  but  a  note ;  however, 
I  signed  it  in  ink  and  then  asked  for  a  pencil  and  on  the  back 
wrote,  "Not  to  be  presented  until  distance  is  measured." 
He  seized  the  check  with  delight ;  when  he  turned  it  over  and 
saw  the  writing  on  the  back  his  face  changed. 

"Now,"  I  said,  "will  you  give  me  the  order  for  Elihu's 
release?" 

2f 


434  A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 

"No,"  he  said,  "I  will  not." 

I  was  still  sitting  in  the  buckboard  and  I  just  leaned  for- 
ward and  took  the  check  from  his  hand.  He  was  so  taken  by 
surprise  that  he  was  silent  for  a  second ;   then  he  said:  — 

"I'll  go  clown  and  measure  the  distance  for  you,  Miss 
Patience." 

"When?" 

"To-night,  right  now.  I'll  get  my  buggy  en  you  kin  go 
right  on  and  I'll  follow  you." 

I  was  truly  thankful,  for  it  was  getting  very  late  and  I  was 
so  afraid  that  Mr.  Stout  would  not  wait.  I  drove  rapidly 
toward  the  gate,  which  is  approached  by  a  causeway.  When 
I  got  well  on  that,  a  thought  struck  me  ;  though  it  would  be  a 
singular  trial  to  me,  to  save  time  I  would  offer  to  take  Mr. 
H.  down  in  my  buckboard.  I  saw  a  negro  woman  near  and 
said  to  her  :  — • 

"Please  run  in  and  say  to  Mr.  Haman  that  Mrs.  Penning- 
ton will  be  glad  to  offer  him  a  seat  in  her  buckboard  and  he 
can  come  back  with  Mr.  Stout." 

She  ran  off  briskly  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned  and  said, 
"Mr.  Haman  say  never  min' ;   say  him  ain't  goin'." 

Fortunately  I  had  taught  Ruth  to  back  all  over  the  yard 
before  a  harness  was  ever  put  on  her,  for  I  backed  her  the 
length  of  that  causeway  in  no  time  and  was  back  at  the  house. 
Mr.  Haman  came  out  looking  considerably  worried. 

"Mr.  Haman,  you  will  not  get  rid  of  me  to-night  until  you 
have  signed  that  release." 

"I  can't  do  it!  When  I  write  a  warrant  it's  writ,  and 
everybody  that  knows  me  knows  that." 

At  this  juncture  his  wife  appeared  and  said:  "Miss  Pa- 
tience, he  ain't  well  and  it's  too  cold  for  him  out  here ;  please, 
ma'am,  to  come  in." 

I  answered:  "I  cannot  come  in,  Mrs.  Haman.  I  simply 
want  your  husband  to  write  an  order  to  Mr.  Stout  to  release 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  435 

Elihu  Green,  whom  he  has  sent  to  the  chain  gang  for  thirty 
days,  until  the  distance  from  the  road  is  measured." 

"You're  right,  Miss  Patience,"  his  wife  answered,  and 
turning  to  her  husband  said,  "Better  do  what  Miss  Patience 
wants  you  to  do,  an'  come  in  out  o'  this  cold  wind." 

Most  reluctantly  and  heavily  at  last  the  words  came : 
"You  give  that  check  to  Mr.  Stout  en  tell  him  to  turn  loose 
the  nigger." 

"And,"  I  said,  "you  will  send  down  early  to-morrow  to 
measure  the  distance?" 

He  was  already  disappearing  in  the  door  but  assented,  and 
again  I  started  for  home.  Ruth  by  this  time  had  got  worked 
up  and  needed  no  whip ;  she  knew  there  was  something  un- 
usual in  the  air  and  she  flew. 

When  I  reached  the  turn  by  St.  Cyprian's  church,  where 
Mr.  Stout  had  promised  to  wait,  it  was  so  dark  I  could  not 
see  whether  he  was  there  or  not  until  I  came  right  up  to  him. 
There  he  was  still  in  the  buggy,  and  when  I  called,  "Please 
come  here,  Mr.  Stout,"  slowly  he  got  out  and  came;  I 
handed  him  the  check. 

He  struck  a  match  and  examined  it,  then  his  whole  face 
beamed  and  he  said,  "Then  I  kin  turn  Elihu  loose?" 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "and  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart  for 
waiting;  you  have  helped  prevent  a  great  injustice.  Mr. 
Haman  says  he  will  send  you  down  to-morrow  to  measure 
the  land.  If  it  is  more  than  fifty  yards,  you  will  return  that 
check  to  me ;  if  less  you  will  give  it  to  him.  Please  come 
early." 

Elihu  was  dazed  with  the  sudden  release  as  the  handcuffs 
were  taken  off.  After  Mr.  Stout  left  I  gave  Elihu  a  talk 
about  the  disgrace  of  cursing  and  making  a  disturbance,  and 
I  said :  — 

"Elihu,  the  distance  will  be  measured  and  if  it  is  less  than 
fifty  yards  you  will  have  to  try  and  work  that  $50  out." 


436  A    WOMAN   BICE  PLANTER 

"Oh,  yes,  miss,  de  Lawd  bless  you,  en  I  thank  you  too 
mutch,  en  I'll  do  all  you  want  me  to  do." 

And  I  made  the  best  of  my  way  home  with  Goliah  behind. 
All  the  servants  were  wild  with  delight  when  they  heard  the 
result,  and  Chloe  had  a  nice  supper  for  me,  but  I  was  too 
tired  to  eat.  The  depths  had  been  stirred  within  me  and  I 
could  only  go  to  the  piano  and  play  Rachmaninoff's  grand 
prelude  over  and  over  until  I  was  quieted. 

Mr.  Haman,  the  magistrate,  is  a  man  of  foreign  birth,  and 
speaks  broken  English,  a  German,  I  suppose.  He  drifted  here 
after  the  war  and  married  the  daughter  of  a  very  excellent 
old  German  who  had  bought  a  plantation  and  settled  here 
at  that  period  of  change  and  unrest.  Two  years  ago  he  was 
elected  to  his  present  office  to  the  surprise  of  every  one. 

December  23. 

The  household  was  astir  early  this  morning.  As  I  felt  it 
was  a  moment  when  I  would  like  to  have  a  gentleman  with 
me,  immediately  after  breakfast  I  drove  over  to  my  good 
neighbor  Mr.  F.  and  asked  him  if  he  would  come  with  me 
and  see  the  distance  measured. 

He  said  he  would  come  with  pleasure,  and  he  got  into  my 
buckboard.  Mr.  F.  with  Jim's  help  measured  and  found 
the  distance  from  Bill's  house  to  the  public  road  250  feet, 
more  than  eighty  yards.  I  was  greatly  relieved,  for  though 
I  can  generally  trust  my  eye  for  distances  I  never  had  thought 
of  this  special  space  and  had  nothing  to  compare  it  with  in  my 
mind.  It  was  simply  an  impression,  I  may  say  a  conviction  ; 
and  if  it  was  wrong  I  would  have  to  borrow  $50,  for  I  had  not 
that  much  in  the  world  that  I  could  put  my  hand  on  at  this 
moment. 

Still  I  would  rather  do  that  than  have  Elihu  punished  and 
disgraced  when  he  was  really  in  the  right. 

Just  as  Mr.  F.  had   finished   measuring,  Mr.  Stout  the 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  437 

deputy  sheriff  drove  up  in  a  very  fine  buggy  with  another 
white  man.  I  greeted  them  pleasantly  and  begged  them  to 
measure  the  distance  at  once,  without  saying  that  I  had  re- 
lieved my  mind  by  doing  so  already.  Mr.  Stout  assisted  by 
Mr.  Oliver  took  the  measurements  and  pronounced  it  250 
feet.  Then  Mr.  Stout  handed  me  my  check  for  $50. 
Thank  the  good  Father  for  His  mercies. 

Christmas  Day. 

Drove  to  church,  where  we  had  a  pleasant  service.  It  had 
been  given  out  that  the  collection  would  be  for  Sewanee. 
There  was  great  excitement  after  service  when  the  word  was 
passed  around  that  it  was  $7  !  Our  plate  rarely  holds  more 
than  half  that  amount.     Every  one  was  very  happy  over  it. 

Then  went  to  take  the  few  things  I  had  gathered  up  for  the 
St.  Peter's  people  to  K.'s  to  be  sent  to  them. 

I  had  to  go  to  the  extravagance  of  buying  a  comfort  for  the 
poor  Lewis  family ;  the  weather  has  been  unusually  cold, 
and  they  are  so  destitute. 

I  have  been  quite  alone  to-day,  but  not  at  all  lonely,  for  I 
have  put  up  candy  for  the  children  on  the  place  and  little 
packages  for  the  old  people.  To-morrow  I  am  to  have  the 
joy  of  a  visit  from  my  two  nephews,  one  of  whom  has  been 
living  in  New  York  and  has  not  been  here  for  a  long  time. 

December  26. 

E.  and  A.  came  about  1  o'clock  with  guns  and  dog  —  per- 
fectly charming  both  of  them  —  both  full  of  zeal  to  shoot. 
I  sent  Jake  up  to  get  another  boat  and  engaged  him  to  come 
at  5  a.m.  to-morrow  to  take  them  out.  He  is  to  get  Aaron, 
who  is  a  good  pacldler. 

December  27. 

Very  early  this  morning  Jake  came  and  said  he  had  failed 
to  get  Aaron.     Jim  came  into  the  house,  made  the  fires,  and 


438  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

waked  the  boys;  then  went  out  to  the  "street"  to  get  a 
paddler.  First  he  went  to  Frankie's  house ;  he  was  in  bed 
and  refused  absolutely  to  come,  saying  he  was  too  com- 
fortable. Then  he  went  to  Gibbie's  house ;  he  talked  a  great 
deal,  but  finally  said  he  would  come. 

Meantime  E.  got  off  in  the  light  canoe  with  Jake.  A. 
waited  until  Gibbie  rode  up  on  his  bicycle  to  say  that  it  was  a 
very  dangerous  business,  etc.,  and  finally  that  he  could  not 
come,  so  Jim  had  to  take  A.  out,  though  he  is  no  paddler. 

As  soon  as  I  heard  what  had  happened  I  wrote  a 
paper  to  Frankie  and  one  to  Gibbie.  "You  will  leave  this 
place  at  once,"  and  sent  it  to  them.  Only  yesterday  when 
they  came  up  for  the  annual  powwow  they  made  a  solemn 
promise  to  do  all  that  I  called  on  them  for.  I  made  them 
promise  this,  because  for  some  time  there  has  been  a  growing 
disposition  not  to  do  what  I  want  done,  and  if  I  let  it  go  on 
and  pass  over  anything  like  this  I  will  lose  all  control  of  the 
place. 

I  am  sitting  out  in  the  sun  and  have  thawed  out  while 
writing  this.  Oh,  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God  !  A  sense 
of  it  pervades  my  being  to-day.  Though  I  have  had  my 
small  trials  already  this  morning,  they  seem  as  nothing  when 
I  think  of  all  His  patience  and  long-suffering  and  loving-kind- 
ness to  me. 

Cherokee,  December  28. 

E.  and  A.  seem  perfectly  happy  to  be  here,  and  their  visit 
is  an  unbroken  pleasure  to  me.  They  have  not  got  very 
much  game,  but  just  to  paddle  round  the  creeks  or  to  walk 
over  the  woods  gun  in  hand  seems  to  revive  all  the  happiness 
of  their  childhood. 

To-day  we  went  to  Casa  Bianca  for  the  day,  and  went 
prepared  for  them  to  spend  the  night  if  they  found  the  ducks 
plentiful  enough  to  make  it  worth  their  while.  When  they 
went  down  into  the  fields,  Nat  paddling  one  and  Jim  the  other, 


A    WOMAN   RICE  PLANTER 


439 


Rice-fields  from  the  high  lands. 


I  started  back  home  alone.     I  got  here  after  a  perfect  drive 
and  glorious  sunset. 

To  my  great  pleasure  I  found  C.  here,  and  then  began  to 
hope  the  boys  would  not  spend  the  night  at  Casa  Bianca.  So 
I  was  delighted  when  at  9 :  30  the  dogs  announced  their 
arrival.  They  had  shot  a 
good  many  ducks,  but  not 
having  a  dog  to  fetch  had 
not  got  one. 

We  had  a  delightful 
evening.  While  I  was  gone 
to-clay  a  man  had  brought 
a  bushel  of  oysters  fresh 
from  the  sea,  so  I  could  give 
them  a  nice  oyster  supper. 

Gibbie  came  to-day  and  among  other  things  said  he  never 
could  paddle.  "Yu  knows  yuself,  Miss  Pashuns,  I  neber 
could  paddle." 

"On  the  contrary,  Gibbie,  I  know  you  to  be  an  expert 
paddler,"  I  replied.     "So  much  for  that  excuse. 

"Three  of  your  children  were  born  in  the  house  I  had  re- 
paired for  you.  Then  the  best  house  on  the  place  became 
vacant  and  you  asked  me  to  let  you  move  into  that  because 
it  was  nearer  your  brother's.  I  let  you  do  it  and  charged 
no  more  rent.  You  were  ill.  I  paid  your  doctor's  bill,  which 
money  you  have  never  returned  to  me.  I  sent  you  milk 
daily  until  you  were  quite  well,  and  during  your  mother's 
illness  of  three  months  I  sent  her  a  pint  of  fresh  milk  night 
and  morning  until  she  died. 

"Your  wife  this  winter  burned  down  the  house  you  oc- 
cupied. There  is  no  use  for  you  to  shake  your  head  and  say 
no.  What  else  was  it  when  she  sent  your  eldest  boy,  5  years 
old,  into  the  loft,  which  was  packed  with  fodder  and  corn  and 
hay,  to  get  peas,  with  a  burning  lightwood  torch  in  his  hand  ? 


■140  A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 

Instead  of  telling  you  that  you  must  leave  the  place,  as  I 
could  not  furnish  another  house  to  one  so  criminally  careless, 
when  you  begged  me  to  have  another  house  repaired  for  you 
to  move  into,  I  did  so.  The  burning  of  the  house  was  a  com- 
plete loss  of  $300  to  me. 

"I  let  you  off  the  rent  of  the  house  for  the  last  month  and 
waited  on  you  for  the  payment  on  the  other  house  long  after 
it  was  due.  All  this  time  you  told  me  you  had  no  money 
and  I  waited,  but  you  told  other  people  on  the  place  that  you 
had  S30  put  away  from  your  last  three  months'  work. 

"It  would  take  a  whole  day  to  remind  you  of  all  the  kind- 
nesses I  have  done  to  you  and  all  the  meannesses  you  have 
been  guilty  of  to  me.  And  now  my  father's  two  oldest 
grandsons  come  to  spend  a  few  days  at  the  old  home  shooting 
ducks,  and  I  send  for  you  to  paddle  one  of  them  in  a  boat,  not 
as  a  favor,  mind  you,  but  to  be  well  paid  for  it,  and  you  ride 
up  on  your  bicycle  to  say  you  cannot  do  it. 

"There  is  no  use  to  say  a  word,  Gibbie,  I  will  not  hear  it. 
The  time  has  come  for  us  to  part  company.     You  must  go." 

He  turned  and  walked  down  the  step  with  a  sullen  look. 
I  will  miss  the  $2  a  month  which  the  two  houses  brought  in, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  do  a  thing  like  this  once  in  a  while. 

Cherokee,  December  30. 

Mrs.  L.  has  become  greatly  interested  in  the  poor  white 
people  out  at  St.  Peter's-in-the-Woods  and  she  sent  me  word 
that  if  convenient  to  me  she  would  come  up  to-day  in  her 
motor  and  get  me  to  go  out  there  with  her  to  distribute  some 
things  which  she  had  collected  for  them.  I  was  so  delighted 
at  her  interest  that  I  said  it  would  be  perfectly  convenient, 
and  though  in  the  back  of  my  mind  was  the  picture  of  the 
dining-room  chimney  place  all  torn  to  pieces,  I  asked  the 
party  to  take  lunch  with  me. 

So  early  this  morning  I  sent  for  Bonaparte  and  told  him  he 


A     WOMAN    BICE    PLANTER  441 

must  make  some  mortar  and  repair  the  fireplace  and  put 
back  the  mantelpiece  and  please  to  have  it  done  by  12  o'clock 
so  that  Patty  Ann  could  clean  up  the  mess  and  make  the 
fire  and  be  ready  for  lunch  at  1.  All  of  which  was  done,  and 
by  the  time  the  sound  of  the  auto  was  heard  everything  was 
ready  but  myself. 

I  had  been  obliged  to  contribute  greatly  to  the  result  and 
had  not  time  to  change  my  working  outfit  before  they  came. 
That  did  not  matter,  however.  They  brought  a  huge  ham- 
per and  basket  full  of  all  sorts  of  nice  things.  The  dear  little 
girl  had  brought  lots  of  her  dresses  and  above  all  toys  !  Such 
beautiful  things,  Teddy  bears  and  billikins  and  dolls  and 
animals  and  clowns.     They  brought  also  groceries. 

We  had  our  lunch  and  then  I  joined  them  and  we  went  the 
nine  miles  in  no  time.  The  visit  to  Louise  Moore  was  most 
successful.  She  and  her  house  and  children  were  clean  and 
sweet.  That  term  could  not  be  applied  to  the  biggest  boy, 
about  six,  however,  as  he  had  been  skinning  four  possums, 
which  were  extended  on  sticks  in  the  little  porch. 

Then  we  went  on  to  poor  old  Mrs.  Sullivan  and  her  Dickens- 
like daughter.  She  was  overjoyed  at  the  groceries  and  nice 
things.  Her  great  poverty  was  very  apparent  in  her  sur- 
roundings, above  all  the  flimsy  garments  she  wore,  but  all 
was  clean.  The  next  visit,  two  miles  beyond,  was  also  satis- 
factory, but  alas,  the  last  visit  was  a  shock.  Mother,  daugh- 
ter, and  granddaughter  were  too  untidy  for  words.  I  could 
not  help  wishing  we  had  not  gone  there,  it  was  so  disappoint- 
ing. 

Certainly  nothing  could  show  more  their  need  of  help  and 
industrial  training.  I  had  only  seen  them  as  a  rule  at  church 
and  had  no  idea  this  special  family  was  so  untidy.  I  had 
been  to  the  home  two  or  three  times,  but  I  suppose  that  was 
not  on  Saturday  afternoon  when  everything,  including  ab- 
lutions, had  lasted  over  since  the  Saturday  evening  before. 


442 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 


This  last  visit  rather  dampened  our  spirits,  though  the  little 
Frenchwoman,  who  had  carried  a  large  box  of  stick  candy 
which  she  distributed  as  we  went,  found  something  pleasant 
to  say  even  about  that. 

When  we  got  back  to  Cherokee  Chloe  had  a  cup  of  tea 
ready  and  the  party  returned  to  Gregory.  I  felt  anxious,  it 
being  late  and  cold.  They  left  a  large  basket  of  things  for 
me  to  keep  for  further  distribution.  I  wish  so  I  could  get  at 
the  poor  Lewis  family  with  some  of  them. 

Miss  Chevy,  who  was  visiting  Mrs.  Sullivan,  answered 
when  I  asked  about  the  Lewises  in  a  high  and  righteous 
voice :  — 

"Yes,  Miss  Pashuns,  they've  gone  away  bag  and  baggage 
an'  I  tell  you  truly  it's  a  good  riddance,  Mis' 
Lewis  she  acted   that   ridiklous  with   them 
children. 

"A  man  come  there  one  day  in  a  wagon  from 

de  up  country  lookin'  for  han's  to  pick  cotton,  an' 

he  asked  me  if  them  Lewises  could  pick  cotton, 

an'  I  spoke  up  an'  said,  'Yes,  sir,  they  kin  pick 

cotton  every  one  o'  them,  'en  he  jes'  drove  right 

to  the  house  an'  asked  them  to  go  with  him  en 

,.,,»    he  carried  them  all  off,  father  and 

*^JTS>        mother  and  three  children,  en  I'll 

7&     tell  you,  Miss  Pashuns,  it's  me  that's 

thankful. 

"You  see  I  didn't  tell  no  lie;  he  didn't 
ask  me  if  they  would  pick  cotton,  but  he 
ask  me  if  they  cud,  an'  I  up  an'  says  they 
cud,  but  I  didn't  say  they's  that  shiftless 
that  they  won't  do  it." 

In  the  mail  which  I  found  when  I  got  home  I  had  a  letter 
from  a  friend  referring  to  an  adventure  which  I  had  four  years 
ago  that  I  do  not  think  I  ever  wrote  down,  so  now  I  am  going 


You  see  I  didn't 
tell  no  lie." 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  443 

to  do  so,  for  I  forget  things  so  entirely.  My  friend  had  come 
from  New  York  to  make  me  a  visit  of  a  week.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  wishing  to  be  with  her  as  long  as  possible,  I  drove 
her  to  Gregory  in  the  buckboard  to  take  the  train.  The  train 
left  at  4 :  30,  which  in  the  latter  part  of  December  is  very 
nearly  dark. 

I  had  taken  Jonadab  behind  the  buckboard.  When  I 
started  on  the  fourteen  mile  drive  home,  I  felt  dismayed,  for 
I  knew  it  would  be  dark  soon.  I  crossed  the  ferry  with  the 
last  light  of  the  dusk  and  drove  on  into  blackness. 

I  had  only  gone  a  little  way,  however,  when  we  drove  into 
a  forest  fire.  Both  sides  of  the  road  were  aflame  and  Ruth 
at  first  was  frightened,  but  finding  it  did  not  come  into  the 
broad,  white,  sandy  road,  she  soon  enjoyed  the  illumination 
as  I  did. 

For  about  three  miles  we  passed  through  this  brilliant 
region,  and  then  I  saw  we  were  coming  to  the  end  of  it  and 
would  soon  be  in  the  darkness  again,  so  I  told  Dab  to  get  out 
and  pick  up  a  good  piece  of  lightwood  for  a  torch  and  light  it, 
which  he  did,  succeeding  in  a  very  short  time  in  getting  a 
long,  fat  piece  full  of  turpentine,  and  just  before  we  left  the 
fields  of  light  he  lit  it  and  held  it  behind  so  that  it  gave  a 
very  satisfactory  path  of  light  just  ahead  of  the  horse. 

All  went  well  until  we  came  to  a  turn  in  the  road  where  we 
had  two  bridges  to  cross  and  I  feared,  as  they  were  narrow 
and  without  railing,  that  I  might  not  see  well  enough,  so  I 
told  Dab  to  get  out  and  carry  the  torch  in  front  until  we 
crossed  the  bridges.  This  he  did,  walking  quite  rapidly,  so 
that  just  after  we  crossed  the  last  bridge  the  torch  blew  out  ; 
the  rapid  motion  somehow  being  in  front,  made  too  much 
draught.     Dab  was  much  concerned,  but  I  said  :  — 

"It  does  not  matter  now,  Dab,  we  are  only  three  miles 
from  home  and  I  know  every  foot  of  the  road ;  get  up  behind 
and  we  will  soon  be  at  home." 


444  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

He  got  up  behind  the  buggy  and  we  went  on  several  hun- 
dred yards,  when  there  was  a  terrific  report,  and  great  flames 
of  fire,  blue,  green,  and  red,  passed  over  our  heads.  Ruth 
dashed,  throwing  me  out  on  my  head,  upsetting  the  buggy, 
broke  loose  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  I  must  have 
been  stunned,  for  I  got  up  quite  confused,  found  no  horse  in 
the  shafts,  and  just  walked  ahead,  forgetting  all  about  Dab. 

As  I  walked  on  I  heard  the  noise  of  the  horse  in  the  woods 
to  the  left  of  the  road.  I  went  in  a  little  way  and  called  to 
her.  Fortunately  she  has  always  come  to  my  call,  and  did 
not  fail  to  do  so  now.  I  caught  her  and  led  her  back  to  the 
buggy.     I  found  both  traces  broken  and  felt  hopeless. 

By  this  time  Dab,  who  must  have  been  stunned  too,  came 
forward  to  help.  I  gathered  all  the  strings  that  the  resources 
of  feminine  apparel  furnish,  and  tied  up  the  traces,  then  with- 
out getting  in,  told  Dab  to  lead  Ruth  off,  which  he  did,  but 
the  buckboard  did  not  move.  I  had  no  knife  to  cut  holes  in 
the  leather,  so  no  string  could  hold.  Still  making  the  effort 
to  secure  the  two  pieces  together  I  said :  — 

"Dab,  what  did  happen?  I  never  have  seen  or  heard 
such  a  thing  before.     Do  you  now  what  it  was?" 

Dab,  stuttering  fearfully,  said  :  "  'Tis  —  is  —  is  —  is  de 
fiah  cracker,  ma  —  a  —  a  —  m  ! " 

"What?"  said  I. 

"Yes,  ma  —  a  —  m,  I  —  I  —  I  buy  six  roman  candles  to 
town  en  I  had  dem  een  my  bussom  en  me  jacket  button  ober 
dem,  en  w'en  the  torch  gone  out  I  ben'  down,  en  bin  a  blow  um 
fu  make  um  blaze,  en  a  spaa'k  fly  een  me  bussom  en  set  off 
de  roman  candle,  en  den  dem  blow  we  up." 

There  in  the  darkness  three  miles  from  home,  with  no  hope 
of  mending  the  harness,  I  laughed  until  I  sank  on  the  sandy 
road.  I  could  not  stop  laughing,  to  Dab's  great  amazement. 
Why  his  nose  was  not  blown  off  I  can't  imagine ;  it  had  been 
such  a  near  thing  that  he  was  much  nearer  tears  than  laughter, 


A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER  445 

and  he  had  expected  certainly  a  scolding  from  me,  and  now  this 
totally  unexpected  and  unnatural  laughter  awed  him  still  more. 

When  I  resumed  my  efforts  I  saw  far  down  the  road  a  light 
drawing  slowly  near.  When  it  got  within  hailing  distance 
I  called  several  times  before  I  got  an  answer.  I  said : 
"Please  come  here,  whoever  you  are.  I  am  in  trouble  and 
I  want  your  help." 

They  seemed  reluctant  and  came  slowly.  When  they  got 
near  enough  and  the  light  fell  on  me,  one  man  said :  "  Why> 
my  Lawd,  'tis  you,  Miss  Pashuns?" 

"  Yes,"  I  said.  "Who  are  you  ?  I  don't  seem  to  know  you 
in  the  dark." 

"No,  ma'am,  you  don'  know  me,  but  I  knows  you  well. 
I'se  Rastimus  en  dis  is  my  fren'  Joshuay." 

"Well,  Rastimus,  I  want  you  and  Joshua  to  fix  my  harness 
for  me.  I've  had  an  accident  and  I  can't  manage  it  at  all 
myself.  Have  you  a  knife  to  cut  a  hole  in  the  trace,  because 
we  can  do  nothing  without  that?" 

"Yes,  my  missus ;  I  got  a  very  shaa'p  knife,  en  don't  you 
worry,  me  en  Joshuay '11  hab  um  fix  korrek,  fo'  yu  knows  it." 

And  true  enough,  though  their  motions  were  very  unsteady 
and  the  air  was  redolent  of  firewater,  in  very  quick  time  the 
harness  was  tied  up  in  an  ingenious  and  substantial  way. 
Then  I  asked  for  the  loan  of  the  lantern.  This  they  hesitated 
about,  but  when  I  gave  my  word  that  it  should  be  sent  to  the 
store  the  next  day  with  a  little  note  of  thanks  and  an  enclosure 
for  each,  they  consented,  and  I  went  on  my  way  with  songs  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  in  my  heart  for  the  many  and  varied 
dangers  I  had  escaped.  The  next  day  the  lantern  was  duly 
returned,  with  a  quarter  apiece  for  my  knights-errant. 

December  31. 

Spent  this  last  day  of  the  old  year  writing  letters  of  thanks 
and  affection,  and  after  dark  I  made  up  a  bright  fire,  Chloe 


446 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER 


and  Patty  Ann  having  gone  away  on  their  Sunday  outing, 
and  sat  in  the  firelight  without  lighting  the  lamps  and  re- 
viewed the  mercies  and  blessings  of  the  past  year.  God 
forgive  me  for  my  mistakes  and  sins  therein,  my  blindnesses 
and  lost  opportunities. 

I  keep  wondering  if  it  is  His  will  that  I  should  give  up  this 
life.     I  do  not  want  to  be  headstrong  about  it.     I  have  so 

loved  the  freedom  and  sim- 
plicity of  the  life,  in  spite  of 
its  trials,  and  isolation.  The 
living  close  to  Nature  —  the 
trees,  the  birds,  the  clouds, 
and  all  the  simple  loving  dumb 
things. 

But  it  almost  seems  as 
though  I  was  meant  to  give 
it  up.  The  rice-planting,  which  for  years  gave  me  the  exhil- 
aration of  making  a  good  income  myself,  is  a  thing  of  the  past 
now  —  the  banks  and  trunks  have  been  washed  away,  and 
there  is  no  money  to  replace  them.  The  experiment  of  plant- 
ing cotton  has  not  been  a  success  with  me.  The  cotton  grew 
luxuriantly  and  bore  well,  but  others  gathered  it,  and  I  got 
but  little.  I  cannot  sit  idle  in  the  midst  of  all  this  fertile 
soil.  But  I  must  wait,  and  watch,  and  listen,  in  silence,  for 
the  still,  small  voice,  which  comes  after  the  storm  and  the 
earthquake,  and  brings  the  message  from  above. 


A    WOMAN  BICE  PLANTER  447 

Some  Gullah  words  and  their  meanings  :  — 

unna     ........  you  all 

een in 

ne in  the 

fremale female 

tissic asthma 

tetta .  potatoes 

fai' fairly,  actually 

bittle food,  victuals 

castle coffin,  casket 


Feom  an  Editorial  in  the  "  New  York  Sun  " 

We  print  to-day  a  South  Carolina  lady's  story  of  her 
experiences  as  a  rice  planter  on  her  own  account,  as  the 
actual  manager  of  two  large  plantations  in  that  State.  It 
is  a  story  which  is  all  the  more  interesting  and  instructive 
because  it  is  told  in  a  manner  of  charming  simplicity  and 
without  a  trace  of  self-consciousness  or  self-assertion.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  information  it  conveys  it  has  attraction 
for  every  reader  by  reason  of  that  manner  and  as  a  revelation 
of  a  feminine  character  in  which  are  manifested  tender  sus- 
ceptibility and  womanly  sympathy  no  less  than  rugged 
courage  in  assuming  an  arduous  task  and  persistency  in 
overcoming  heavy  practical  obstacles. 

Mrs.  Pennington  is  of  the  type  of  Southern  womanhood 
which  reflected  so  great  honor  on  that  part  of  this  country 
during  the  period  of  slavery  and  may  be  said  to  have  been  a 
generation  peculiar  to  the  social  system  at  the  base  of  which 
slavery  lay.  The  executive  and  administrative  experience 
acquired  by  Southern  ladies  at  the  head  of  households  on  the 
great  plantations  gave  them  a  distinction  among  American 
ladies  which  since  the  overthrow  of  slavery  has  been  demon- 
strated by  many  of  them  in  the  practical  management  of 
large  estates  like  that  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Pennington 
and  in  other  fields  of  enterprise  usually  believed  to  be  be- 
yond the  sphere  of  feminine  ability.  The  mistress  of  a 
plantation,  with  many  negro  slaves,  usually  so  far  removed 
from  considerable  social  centres  that  in  its  superintendence 
individual  resource  was  taxed  to  the  utmost,  was  loaded 
with  a  multiplicity  of  practical  details  and  duties  of  admin- 
istration, and  in  the  discharge  of  these  she  received  an  educa- 
tion as  an  executive  officer  which  distinguished  her  among 
her  American  sisters. 

2g  449 


450  A    WOMAN  RICE  PLANTER 

Accordingly,  when  the  Civil  War,  with  its  incident  of 
negro  emancipation,  left  the  South  impoverished  and  its 
social  system  upturned,  some  of  the  most  efficient  and  most 
important  agents  in  developing  the  new  prosperity  now  so 
abundant  were  Southern  women  who  had  passed  through 
that  severe  school  of  training,  had  been  reared  under  its 
influences  or  been  moulded  by  its  traditions  —  resourceful, 
courageous,  well-poised  women,  accustomed  to  command, 
tactful  and  self-reliant,  yet  at  the  same  time  endowed  with 
the  gentlest  feminine  graces  and  the  most  engaging  feminine 
qualities  of  character  and  disposition. 

The  readiness  with  which  Mrs.  Pennington  assumed  the 
heavy  practical  responsibilities,  the  risks,  the  vexations,  and 
the  cares  involved  in  her  rice-planting  ventures,  and  the 
sagacity,  practical  skill,  and  indomitable  persistence  with 
which  she  has  pursued  them,  are  not  less  impressive  than  the 
beautiful  spirit  of  womanly  humanity  and  religious  devotion 
to  duty  which  is  exhibited  so  unconsciously,  so  spontane- 
ously, in  her  simple  narrative.  No  trace  of  resentment 
against  the  negroes  from  whose  shortcomings  she  has  suf- 
fered so  grievously  appears  in  the  story.  The  feeling  she 
manifests  is  rather  sympathetic  in  its  tender  consideration 
of  moral  defects  apparently  inseparable  from  their  inheri- 
tance as  a  race  and  from  the  conditions  produced  by  the 
sudden  revolution  in  their  relations  to  those  employing 
them.  It  is  to  such  a  spirit  as  Mrs.  Pennington's  that  the 
welfare  of  the  negro  race  of  the  South  can  best  be  trusted. 

Mrs.  Pennington  closes  her  story  with  the  expression  of 
a  fear  that  "this  is  a  dull  letter"  ;  but  she  may  be  sure  that 
every  one  of  the  thousands  of  people  who  will  read  her  story 
will  find  in  it  a  human  document  of  touching  interest,  and 
will  see  in  it  a  revelation  of  a  character  in  which  are  illus- 
trated the  best  and  highest  virtues  and  graces  of  woman- 
hood. 


